Port Elizabeth is set to increase the leisure and entertainment facilities with the announcement of a R13 million complex in Summerstrand by local entrepreneurs John and Sandy Taalman who currently run the Greenacres Entertainment Centre in Newton Park.

The complex, which is due to open on 3 September, will house, among other things, a bowling alley and an entertainment facility for children.

The new development is already under construction on a site of about 3 000m and on completion in August, will house a tenpin bowling alley and Kidz Galore, currently at Greenacres. The new 600m² Kidz Galore centre will be nearly double the size of the current one at Greenacres.

The new complex would also contain “On Cue” consisting of 14 professional pool tables.

In addition, “Lighthouses” – the proposed new name for the Summerstrand development – will include a bar and restaurant, conference and banqueting facilities, and a Sixties-style soda fountain specially for the under 18s.

The complex will also feature a double-volume atrium entrance flanked by two large lighthouses, one of which will house a camera obscura (a device that inverts light rays and reflects them on to a viewing surface).

In addition, strict adherence will be paid to safety regulations, Sandy Taalman says: “We are getting guidelines from the Boardwalk – their security regulations are of the highest standard.

“We will be bringing our staff complement to 55 people by employing about 20 additional staff members,” says John Taalman