GEORGE NEWS - Paddagat, the original name of the St George's Square shopping centre in Knysna Road, has been reinstated and is proudly displayed on the building frontage, giving some recognition to its history.

This follows the renovation of the centre last year. Jo de Freitas, asset manager for the centre owners, Fairvest Property Holdings, says, "We decided to restore the old name that was used by the community. 

"It derives from the name of the vlei on which the building was built and which was home to an indigenous frog population."

Fairvest bought the building in 2013.

De Freitas says a number of new tenants have been added to the mix lately. 

These include Exclusively Monica (fashion), Vape Breweries, Garden Route Film Studio, Sausage Saloon and Perfect Water.

"We moved the Standard Bank ATM into a smaller space to make extra shopping space available. 

"Avbob will be moving in upstairs on 1 February and two more tenants have shown interest, but the contracts have not been signed yet."

Paddagat, the original name of the St George's Square Centre, has been reinstated. Photo: Alida de Beer

Leon van der Westhuizen, centre manager, says the reinstatement of the name "Paddagat" has elicited a lot of positive comment from the public.

ARTICLE & PHOTOS: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST

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