I really am not sure if all the retail unit owners within the iconic Ampang Park shopping mall are happy with the latest announcement that the Ampang Park shopping mall will now have a new design option and thus no longer need to be demolished. This is as per announced by the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp). Ampang Park was built in 1973. Many have written in to newspapers about the nostalgia of Ampang Park shopping mall. I have been there just once. Truthfully, I prefer a more modern shopping mall. That’s a personal preference.
This new design option will see the mall preserved with some modifications made to its foundation. In terms of distance, it will be very slightly longer walk but this allows the planned connections between the MRT and LRT stations to still happen. This is the latest plan after the meeting between MRT Corp, the Ampang Park Management Committee and strata unit owners last Saturday. Well, the first thing in the redesign is that Ampang Mall would not be demolished and will remain as it is. The new MRT station would be shifted slightly away from the location of Ampang Park while an underground pedestrian linkway between the future MRT station and the LRT station would be built beneath the shopping mall.
With this, the initial plan that required the tenants to cease operations would not happen. The new plan would only need several sections of Ampang Park’s underground carpark to be temporarily closed for up to 18 months while construction is done. Some of the affected businesses would be closed for the duration which will now be subjected to a mutual agreement and some adequate compensation. The duration of the mutual agreement has also been reduced from 84 months to just 36 months under the new redesign. This mutual agreement should be concluded and signed by Jan 31 if the final plan is not to demolish the mall.
I personally would have preferred for a new mall with every one of the current owners having the same sized unit as their current place and the potential for even more retail outlets since it is now going to be a MRT station. In other words, pedestrian traffic would be increasing tremendously. The younger generation would also prefer for a more modern mall and not the current one which may need extensive refurbishment for it to be on par to many of the newer malls today. Sometimes, development will take away some memories but truth is, every time there’s development, it will always take away some memories. I used to visit a shopping complex in Ipoh when I was young and it was one of my most favourite place. Today, it has shown lots of deterioration and even if the complex remains clean and open, it’s shops and the facilities just would not match the newer malls. Sorry to say that if this goes on, many of the retail shops may close in the future. I wish Ampang Park shopping mall all the best. Happy shopping!
written on 5 Nov 2015
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