Westfield counts tornado cost
Much of Westfield Albany to reopen at noon - but cost and loss of revenue from twister still unclear.
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Albany Mall, owned by Westfield New Zealand, expects most of its retail stores to reopen today at noon.
Yesterday's tornado killed one person and injured 20, and caused damage to the Albany Mall and nearby Albany Mega Centre.
A spokeswoman for Westfield said structural and safety checks were being conducted with the Auckland City Council, and if given the all clear many stores - including the New World Supermarket - would reopen this morning.
The roof above Farmers and the Events cinema were damaged and repairs would prevent their re-opening today.
It is not yet clear when stores in the more severely damaged Mega Centre nearby will re-open.
Westfield's Albany mall had 53,000 square metres of retail space, 146 specialty stores.
The spokeswoman said it was too early to give an estimate of the cost of damage, or the effect on revenues.
In a separate statement, Foodstuffs has confirmed that no staff or customers were injured by yesterday’s tornado hitting Albany.
The company said that PAK'nSAVE Albany has been cleared by the structural engineers, that building contractors will continue to clear the site and carry out minor repair works throughout the morning, and the store should open early this afternoon.
The statement confirmed that New World Albany has suffered no structural damage. Foodstuffs was unable to give the exact store opening time for New World Albany but said it would be ready to open once Civil Defence gives the all clear.
NBR Staff
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
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Westfield counts tornado cost
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