Gbaja Shopping Mall

Governor Babatunde Fashola at the weekend, commissioned the N250 million Gbaja shopping complex in the Surulere council area, with a pledge to provide the enabling environment for private sector investors to invest in the nation’s commercial capital. The Governor who grew up in the neighbourhood, recalled with nostalgia, the days of yore when a cinema hall, post office, Abebe Sports field and other recreational facilities adorned the area. He tongue lashed the Federal Government for under-developing Lagos by allowing federal roads and other infrastructure in the state to decay. He said the Adeniran Ogunsaya shopping complex which was redeveloped and Gbaja shopping mall came on stream because his government provided good roads network in the area.

Speaking earlier, the developer, Chief Hakeem Alobo-Bakare said Gbaja Shopping Mall is located in the heart of Surulere off Akerele Road and is easily accessible from the Taslim Balogun Stadium axis. The mall, which he said is the first of its kind in Surulere comes complete with a banking hall, traditional market arrangement of kee klamp shops and a shopping complex. It has an advantage of incorporating an existing market in its immediate neighbourhood that will anchor the kee klamps section.

Promoted and developed by DHB Construction Ltd, with Skye Bank Plc., providing financial muscle. Chief Alobo-Bakare said Gbaja shopping mall is designed to ease shopping. “Users of the facility can do their shopping after withdrawing money from the bank.”

“The complex has three floors and the third floor will be used as an event place. The only event place in Surulere is the Eagle Club, Shell Club of those days and we are putting up an event place that will seat a thousand guests with a separate entrance,” he said.

The developer said “the mall is solid and it is built on a raft foundation. The structure is very stable because we used burnt bricks instead of sandcrete blocks and very light materials for partitioning”. Vitrified tiles were used on all the floors areas and various offices and shops were done in aluminum grid with doors and windows “ The parking spaces are well paved with interlocking stones. Parking is no problem. We have about a hundred slots for parking and like every market, people come and go.”

Provision, he said has been made for fire hydrant and that besides, the complex is insured along with the workman compensation insurance as specified by the bank. “Individual owners and tenants will insure their wares.” There is a borehole plant with water treatment plant and tank that can hold 4000 litres of water.

The complex has three entrances; one for the bank, shopping complex and for the kee klamp. It is designed to be well secured and would have a police post. It will be powered by a 500KVA generator in addition to public electricity. “Individual tenants or shop owners are not allowed to bring in their generators.

The complex has a void façade in its middle and a walkway, which gives clear view of movement and activities to people on all floors. “When you’re on the first floor you can see what is happening on the ground floor and on the second floor. It is the same view for people on other floors. “We don’t want to build an enclosed block.” There are toilet facilities, six on each floor and split equally for male and female users.

Split unit air-conditioners are being installed and tenants and owners of shops will pay service charge for the up-keep of the mall. It will be managed by DHB Properties, a subsidiary of the developer.

He said the existing market people in the neighbourhood have already staked their claims and that “they have agreed to pay for the kee klamps shops. They are the traditional owners of the land.

The traditional market, he said is an attraction because “when we conceived the idea we thought of relocating them temporarily but we decided to leave them there because of the added value of advertisement. Whoever comes to the market will ask what is happening here.”