Deserted parking and closed showrooms are a common sight at Barwa Village. Tenants feel the complex management should use the services of a professional leasing agent to improve the village’s fortunes.
By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter
A demand for a professional leasing agent, working under Barwa management, is gaining ground among commercial tenants at Barwa Village. They feel business activities at the village are yet to get the attention they deserve from residents.
Traders, particularly representatives of prominent retailers who have incurred heavy losses at the village since its commissioning over two years ago, say skilled leasing agents can turn the complex into a profitable business destination. It currently houses more than 800 retail outlets and offices.
One of their representatives said a leasing agency could still salvage the situation and turn Barwa Village into an attractive business destination for residents.
Reacting to a report that business houses on Salwa Road were encroaching upon service roads and public parking, the entrepreneur said it was high time the municipal authorities instructed operators of such outlets to shift their businesses to a sprawling areas like Barwa Village.
While complaints of used car showrooms cornering parking along the Express Highway and other localities in the heart of the city continue to pour in, the vast parking lot at Barwa Village - which can accommodate between 3,500 and 4,000 vehicles - wears a deserted look most of the week. The only exceptions are weekends.
Traders at the village feel though the place is suitable for businesses such as car accessory shops, used car showrooms and upholstery stores - which require space - the complex operators are yet to consider these options.
“It is in these situations that professional leasing agents could come in handy,” said a senior city trader yesterday, adding that the success of a large retail outlet in the standalone complex in the middle of the village should serve as a lesson for all.
A senior leasing agent said establishments such as car accessory showrooms on B-Ring Road were using up public space along the busy but narrow road. “Why can’t such traders be attracted to Barwa Village by convincing them of the lower rents compared to the high rates they have to pay for showrooms in their present congested locations?”
Customers would not mind travelling to showrooms in a place like Barwa Village due to the availability of parking there, the leasing agent added.
Tenants at the village also highlighted the need for better public transport connectivity to the place through the day. At present, they said, Mowasalat provided skeletal services to the area. “To begin with, the authorities should consider operating bus services from different parts of the country to the village rather than a handful of services to Wakra and Mesaieed,” said a trader, who was among the first to move to the place after its completion.
Some of the existing tenants also complained about the growing trend of leasing space at the village to clients who kept their establishments closed through the year without conducting any business.
“Such showrooms give the place a bad image,” said a trader, adding that a large number of shops at Barwa Village were occupied by tenants who maintained offices in other locations at higher rents. “Regular supervision by the authorities is necessary to preempt such a situation. Otherwise, there will be more such closure of showrooms in the village,” he said.