N.S. floods: Shop owner says Bedford Place Mall is ‘doing nothing’ for its stores – Halifax | 24CA News

Some retailer house owners at Bedford Place Mall are struggling within the aftermath of final month’s devastating flash flooding within the space, as important quantities of water unfold all through the purchasing centre and resulted in expensive losses for some companies.

John Connors, the proprietor of East Coast Kicks, stated about three to 5 inches of water accrued all through everything of his retailer on the peak of the flooding.

Two days handed earlier than he was legally permitted again into his retailer – the place he instantly made the choice to tear out a “soaking wet” carpet to cut back the moisture and humidity all through his store.

“This whole entire thing has been an absolute nightmare,” Connors stated, including that his unit was with out energy for 12 days following the flood.

He additionally stated “anything that was on the floor” was broken, primarily in his storage space, which contained dozens of brand-new sneakers.

“(They are) permanently damaged, they smell, boxes are all ruined, and, in my business, I need to sell it (shoes) brand new with the box,” he stated.

“All of this is happening while the insurance for the mall is doing nothing and the mall themselves are doing nothing for anybody in here.”

“My roof also started leaking the night of… I don’t think anyone’s been up there to fix it and it’s just continuing to leak, so I have two buckets here,” Connors added, pointing to an empty rubbish can and container on the ground.

Global News reached out to Bedford Place Mall administration on Friday however didn’t obtain touch upon the claims made by Connors. On Thursday, a normal supervisor for the mall declined to touch upon harm prices.

Connors stated the owner is inserting duty on him for the ground, partitions, and surrounding areas, which he says, “Weren’t mine when I moved in”.

“This is my first ever insurance claim and this is my first time ever dealing with a landlord that is no help either,” he stated.

He stated the spare models subsequent to his store are nonetheless broken from the flood.

Connors stated he can’t re-open till repairs on the three models surrounding his store are completed. He stated that one room hasn’t been touched but.

“I can’t start what I need to do until that’s done and we’re on the same page,” he stated.

Danielle Mancimi, an worker at Shady Maple Raw, a pet food retailer, stated her office opened final Friday after being closed for 2 weeks because of the flood harm.

“There was a lot of water all over the floor… it was kind of like muddy water, the power was out for almost a week,” she stated, including that some stock was misplaced within the retailer’s principal freezer.

“I think people got worse than us, I think we were quite lucky,” she stated.

Although the shop averted important harm, which allowed for workers to return to work, Mancimi stated business hasn’t been flowing as standard.

“I have found it’s been slower since we’ve reopened… it’s starting to (pick up),” she stated. “I think where the mall isn’t fully opened, people might think we’re still closed.”

Other companies contained in the mall, akin to the jewellery retailer Charm, are planning to reopen on the weekend, whereas Fit4less is anticipating one other two to 4 weeks of repairs earlier than welcoming the general public again to its amenities.

The Bedford Place Mall stated it’ll proceed to share updates on the re-opening of shops on its web site.

— With information from Vanessa Wright

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