THE owners of IGA Redland Bay say they were left in the dark during planning for an upgrade to the suburb's major shopping centre, with the store now closed after more than three decades of service to the community.
Jones Retail Group, who had owned the IGA at Redland Bay Shopping Village for the last 15 years, said property owners Fox and Bell did not give them the opportunity to revamp the store as part of the centre redevelopment.
According to planning documents, some of the centre and seven houses will be demolished, while the IGA is to be replaced by a Woolworths superstore.
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Jones Retail Group director Tyrone Jones said the business, which closed on Sunday, had expressed interest to the property owners about refreshing and modernising the store for more than 10 years.
He said they were informed in late 2020 that their lease would end in January 2021.
But Fox and Bell principal Garry Hargrave said the owners had been notified when entering into a contract extension in 2015 that their lease would cease in June 2020. This was extended to February this year due to disruptions arising from COVID-19.
The closure means 30 local employees, including one who had served the store for more than 20 years, are to be relocated to other nearby IGA stores as soon as this week.
"Our team are locals whom have worked hard to service their community over the years," Mr Jones said.
"It is however frustrating that we were not given the opportunity to revitalise and grow our store to be a part of a new development.
"We are passionate about our Redlands community. We want to thank those locals, past and present, whom have supported our business.
"It seems obvious through community feedback, (locals) really wanted a local supermarket that could continue to service the village feel of the community."
Mr Hargrave said Redland Bay and island residents had been demanding access to a frontline supermarket.
"IGA does not have a comparable retail format and residents are entitled to access a complete range of supermarket products and services at the price points associated with the major supermarket chains," he said.
"For too long residents have had to travel to Victoria Point for comprehensive shopping.
"This is disadvantageous to people with mobility issues or little access to private transport, particularly if they reside on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands."
Mr Jones said the business had been willing to build a larger store similar to the award-winning Mount Cotton Supa IGA.
"Landlords Fox and Bell failed to communicate or be fair with local tenants, leaving us in the dark during project planning," he said.
"It seemed that local members of the community knew more about the future of our business than we did."
Mr Hargrave said Fox and Bell had been in constant communication with the IGA owners about the changes.
Mr Jones said locals could still support independent grocers by shopping at other Redlands IGA stores.
"Redlands locals have always been significant supporters of independently owned grocery stores and what that means for local jobs and economy," he said.
"A new IGA in Redland Bay would have directly benefited local suppliers and employees versus a corporate owned store.
"IGA stores spend double the labour cost per sales dollar compared to corporate owned stores. This would have meant more local employment."
Mr Hargrave said the redevelopment, which is expected to cost more than $25 million, would create more than 400 jobs for locals.
The upgraded centre is set to open in 2022.
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