The Island Plaza Mall is a 500,000 sq ft mall, which opened in December 1995, and was estimated to be worth RM200 million at the time.
However, in 2016 a business publication revealed that Island Plaza was purchased for RM120 million by a retail mall investment fund in 2007 and renovated with RM40 million.
It attracted high-end concept stores like Versace, Fila, Oshkosh B’gosh, Polo Santa Barbara, and Mizuno to open in Penang for the first time in 1995 because it was the only other large shopping complex except for Komtar.
However, the mall started to lose visitors as a tonne of brand-new shopping centres popped up, pushing Island Plaza to the side.
Photo Credit: Flickr
This time around, according to The Star, the mall looks set for a new revival as a Hong Kong businessman has purchased the long-forgotten Island Plaza in the region and vows to make it a major attraction once more.
The buyer, who only went by the name Law, promised to bring Hong Kong’s creative economy—including the performing and visual arts, film and television production—to the shopping centre.
There will also be a coffee shop in the old British colony named ‘cha chan teng’, which is Cantonese for “tea and dishes hall,” as an added draw.
The Island Plaza Mall is not his first investment in Penang as Law owns more than 10 properties in Penang now, including a private museum and a boutique hotel in the heritage enclave.
Jenny Yeap, principal of Mega Realty Sdn Bhd and the person in charge of Island Plaza’s leasing office, acknowledged that the city council received plans for the mall’s redevelopment and redesign, which included a high-tech exterior.
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