By Emily Chapman Laing
A “Rent Dramatically Reduced!” sign in the shopping village has caused outrage in the Pearcedale community.
Community Facebook groups are rife with frustrated community members who feel taken advantage of by “pure greed“.
“They have no respect for our town, our community and its values,“ Amy Tea said.
“The landlord’s arrogance is an attack on everything Pearcedale stands for.“
Locals say they feel for the tenants who were forced out in 2021 due to rent rate hikes.
“What a kick in the guts for those businesses who were turfed so they could astronomically increase their rent rates,” said Pearcedale local Simon Murray.
“It’s an absolute insult to the long term businesses that were forced out and disgraceful to the existing businesses who will not have their rents reduced and are on long term contracts,“ said Christine Forrest-Evans.
The sudden drop has exacerbated negative perceptions of the village’s landlords rather then seen them quelled.
“Jasman Pty Ltd is a company with no scruples, no sense of community,“ said June Godfree.
“They are a greedy company who increased rents hugely during the middle of Covid,” Nicole Parsons said.
“They forced hard working people out.”
“They kicked out essential business to our local shops and they have been empty. Now they reduce the rent,” Joanna Barry said.
Mr Paul Sampson said the landlord are “completely out of touch with Australian values“.
Since Jasman Pty Ltd took over the village in 2021, the shops have remained empty as high rental rates attract few applicants.
The old hardware store sits over 180 square metres.
Previously, it was advertised at $81,000 per year.
This has now been reduced to $63,000, a reduction of nearly $20,000 per year.
Likewise the old milkbar and butcher have seen substantial rent decreases, down to $48,000 and $31,160 respectively.
“It’s a massive insult to the long term, hard working businesses that were forced out,” Brenda Joy said.
“I think they should come visit and apologise for the damage they have done with their mindless attitude to all the current shopkeepers still here,” Darryn Bass said.
Other Pearcedale residents are questioning why the local council hasn’t stepped in on their behalf.
“It’s not good enough. Where is our council?“ Helen Babauta said.
“Casey council has done nothing to save this shopping centre, this community hub,“ June Godfree said.
City of Casey Manager of Growth and Investment Kathryn Seirlis says the council is aware of the issues surrounding the shopping village, but have no power to change the outcome.
“We sympathise with the businesses affected and acknowledge this is a challenging time,“ she said.
“Unfortunately, Council has no power over tenancy agreements, as they are often market driven.
“Council will continue to offer its support where possible.“
The vacant stores have also changed hands, yet again, to a new property management team.
A Facey property management spokesperson told Star News in April they were considering dropping the Pearcedale Shopping Village from their listings.
“It takes so long to get anything over the line,” they said.
They said the company continued to provide the landlord with valuable tenants, and they continue to get knocked back.
Now the properties are under the management of Cameron property group members John Guastella and Kerri Skews.
Cameron Property Group said they will not be commenting on the issue.
A spokesperson for Jasman said the company was investing in ensuring the right mix of tenants to facilitate post-Covid recovery for the Pearcedale Village Shopping Centre.
“Jasman are very keen to attract the right tenant mix to the Pearcedale Village Shopping Centre,” they said.
“We have instructed our letting agents to provide significant incentives to encourage a dynamic mix of experienced retail operators.”
