KEY POINTS:
Rain-soaked Aucklanders flocked to Sylvia Park shopping centre yesterday, many to see early screenings of new film Black Sheep.
That left a big smile on the face of landlord Angus McNaughton, who said the wet weather was helping to get big numbers into the third stage of his new mall, which opened to the public yesterday.
Shop owners at the Kiwi Income Property Trust-owned mall will be hoping the third stage - 45 electronic and lifestyle shops, a cinema complex and entertainment precinct - will bring more foot traffic.
Some have complained that sales have been below their forecasts, although there was no shortage of potential tenants for the third stage.
McNaughton agreed that the third stage, dubbed "the men's creche" because of the number of male shoppers it is expected to attract, would bring more shoppers to the mall.
He dismissed the nickname "Spooky Park" given to the mall and urged people to suspend judgment on its success until after it was completed in the middle of the year.
Investors appear bullish on Kiwi Income, with the units hitting an all-time high of $1.69 on Wednesday after the trust said its assets had increased in value by $210 million since last year to $1.9 billion.
The shares closed down 2c at $1.67 yesterday.
Hoyts was holding early screenings of the flesh-eating sheep movie just before the gala world premiere last night when guests were invited to a party to celebrate the multiplex cinema's arrival.
McNaughton said forecasts of "shabby" weather conditions this weekend might drive many more people into the Mt Wellington centre.
He estimated 5000 shoppers were at the park by midday yesterday, based on about 2500 carparks being full.
He said many more people would arrive in the next few months when a new train station opens and the final stage of the shopping centre is unveiled.
Yesterday's third-stage opening was hardly a repeat of last July's stampede when Sylvia Park opened.
McNaughton said yesterday he wasn't expecting that sort of behaviour but because of the rain many shoppers had arrived before the 10am start.
Next weekend's Easter break and a fortnight of school holidays would be an added bonus, he predicted.
McNaughton said yesterday's shoppers would be unaware they were walking beneath the Southeastern Motorway while moving through the mall as ambient noise in the centre dulled the noise of traffic.
