Fears Toombul Shopping Centre could be closed for up to a year
Toombul Shopping Centre owner Mirvac has conceded it will take at least six months before the flood-ravaged northside retail hub reopens. But traders fear they might not return for a year.
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Toombul Shopping Centre owner Mirvac has conceded it will take at least six months before the flood-ravaged hub can reopen, based on its experiences at a Bundaberg shopping centre.
It’s Hinkler centre took six months to reopen after a massive flood in 2013, but Toombul is twice as big — leading many retailers to fear they might not be able to return for as long as a year.
Even upper-level traders such as Function Well gym, which escaped damaged, were in limbo until fire services, power and water could be reconnected.
Some retailers have managed to relocate, including Ideas homewares, furniture, fashion and giftwares store which opened just one month before the flood hit.
Owner Alan McNeish, who was not insured, lost $100,000 in stock plus fitout costs, but has managed to reopen at Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre and re-deploy all Toombul staff.
But the lengthy delay is a body blow to a dozen health outlets, from dentists’ and doctors’ surgeries to podiatrists.
Local federal Labor MP Anika Wells said private health insurance providers usually withdrew vital “preferred provider’’ status if a business closed for long periods.
Preferred provider status means a health business is much more likely to attract customers.
Prolonged business closures can also mean the loss of Medicare provider numbers, which allow businesses to pass on Medicare rebates or bulk bill.
Many GPs cannot viably trade without a provider number.
“We don’t know how long the centre will remain closed,’’ Toombul centre manager Michelle Lucadou-Wells said in a statement today (March 24).
“However, we have been through a significant flooding event before at our Hinkler centre in Bundaberg in 2013, and that centre took six months to re-open safely.
“Toombul is over two times larger and our early assessments have now shown the damage at Toombul to be much greater.
“Supply chain challenges are also at play with lead times for the replacement of critical infrastructure already estimated to be in excess of six months, meaning Toombul will not be operational for at least this period of time.
“We will also provide the community with updates as soon as we know more.’’
Toombul Family Dental owners Bella Verity and Zai Atkinson said they had negotiated a temporary reprieve from health fund NIB on their preferred provider status.
They are meeting Medibank next week as well.
Ms Verity, who had to discharge herself early from hospital following jaw surgery to help clean up her decimated surgery, estimated they had lost $750,000 in equipment.
They would have to completely strip the space, which cost $720,000 to fit out.
She would also have to pay her nine dentists retainers until they could open another surgery at Everton Park in the next few weeks, which fortunately had been planned well before the flood hit.
“I haven’t slept a full night since this happened. It’s not just worry about how we will rebuild, it’s the impact on my staff,’’ she said.
“They haven’t just lost their jobs. Because I believe in education I was paying to send some of them to TAFE and was paying for their private health insurance.’’
Roll’d Toombul Vietnamese food franchise owner Daisy Dao said she had no flood insurance and had lost $20,000 in food and $200,000 in equipment.
Because she had opened only six months ago she had limited savings, which would make getting finance to rebuild hard.
“We can’t set up a temporary restaurant. It’s not easy setting up a kitchen and costs a lot of money.
“So it’s all a waiting game. I would like to go back, but they will need to do flood (mitigation) work.’’
Studio Solo & Co owner Ken Chiu said he was more fortunate because he also had a new outlet, opposite Toombul, in the planning long before the flood hit.
He had been able to have a soft opening this week while he waited for more equipment to arrive.
“I lost $70,000 all up — a $4000 ice machine, $45,000 coffee machine, $4000 cake cabinet — none of this is cheap,’’ he said.
Mr Chiu said although he had floodproof walls up to knee height, Mirvac insisted the entire shop be stripped because of concerns about mould.
Northside Connect neighbourhood centre co-ordinator Sharon Gingell said the problem for Toombul employees were just starting to emerge.
Many had limited savings they had already gone through, and many of those whose homes were flooded could no longer live with relatives or friends.
“We put out a call to the community on Facebook and have collected $4000 in vouchers, which we have shared with the Zillmere neighbourhood centre, so people can buy whatever they need,’’ Ms Gingell said.
“We’ve been giving out Kmart, Coles, Woolies and other vouchers because everyone has individual needs.’’
Ms Wells and her local Labor state counterpart, Leanne Linard, today organised a pop-up community help service next to Toombul.
Centrelink and half a dozen state and federal agencies and departments, as well as Council’s Economic Development group, were on hand to offer advice to affected businesses from Toombul and in the surrounding area.
“We’re a close-knit community and we care for each other. The best way to help you is to give you access to loans, services and grants,’’ Ms Linard told the crowd.
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Originally published as Fears Toombul Shopping Centre could be closed for up to a year
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