Asiaworld Shopping Mall (環亞購物中心), one of Taipei’s oldest shopping malls, will launch a goodbye sale tomorrow before a facelift scheduled for next year by its new owner, company executives said yesterday.
In March last year, local construction company CMP Group (勤美集團) purchased the 28-year-old shopping mall from money-losing hotel operator Asiaworld Group (亞世集團).
The sale will last until July 24 with more than 2,000 items priced at NT$1.
PHOTO: PAN SHAO-TANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Renovation is expected to take about one year.
Arthur Chen (陳世樑), general manager of the group’s property management unit, said CMP would retain the shopping mall located in the city’s business district at the intersection of Nanjing E Road and Dunhua N Road.
“The shopping mall promises great business potential in light of its prime location,” Chen said.
“It is situated near the Taipei Arena and the site of the Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel,” he said.
Chen himself removed the Asiaworld signboard, saying CMP had yet to find a new name for the mall.
The group, which recently won an architecture award for turning a dilapidated parking building in Taichung into a green commercial property with a bookstore, a performance hall, shops and restaurants, said it intends to redecorate Asiaworld in the second quarter of next year.
“We hope to introduce a healthy dose of creativity and humanity to the shopping mall that will specialize in selling medium-priced products,” Chen said.
With a 6,500 ping (21,450m²) floor area, the shopping mall runs from B2 to the 7th floor of the 15-story building.
Joseph Su (蘇建彰), deputy general-manager of Precious Jade Construction (璞真建設), a CMP affiliate, said that the new management team would retain all employees and suppliers. Su said the project would take 100 days.
The group said it would also retain the office space in the building, adding that rent would be its major source of revenue.
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