South Africa’s largest landlord building bridges to the nation’s richest shopping mall
South Africa’s biggest landlord, Growthpoint Properties, has built a bridge from its Sandton offices to Sandton City Shopping Centre.
Growthpoint Properties is South Africa’s largest real-estate investment trust, with a market cap of R57 billion. It owns significant stakes in several major buildings, including the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
The company has now opened the Sandton Drive Link Bridge, a R26 million infrastructure bridge, which offers pedestrian access between Growthpoint’s The Place at 1 Sandton Drive and the Sandton City shopping centre.
Notably, Growthpoint’s head office is located at The Place, 1 Sandton Drive, which also houses AON, Bank of America, and several other high-profile companies.
The bridge is designed not only to enhance convenience for tenants of The Place, but also to facilitate more effortless pedestrian movement through Sandton Central.
The move also aims to provide street-level pedestrian access convenient for those accessing the services of the U.S. Consulate, which neighbours The Place.
The bridge was developed in close partnership with Sandton City, the Sandton Central Management District and the City of Johannesburg.
“Sandton Drive Link Bridge is a safe crossing that stands as a beacon to the persistence and partnerships that got this project across the line,” says Estienne de Klerk, SA CEO of Growthpoint Properties.
“Thank you to everyone who believed in this vision and made it a reality. This is an investment that will benefit countless people for many years to come.”
Growhtpoint said that the bridge underscores its continued investment in its core portfolio, driven by active asset management and a commitment to precinct-led value creation.
“We’ve enhanced the value and positioning of The Place while improving the safety and experience of everyone moving through this important node,” said Timothy Irvine, Head of Asset Management: Offices at Growthpoint.
Constructed with a focus on durability, safety and design, the bridge features stainless steel balustrades, a glass-covered viewing deck, and lighting that adds a dynamic presence to the Sandton skyline.
Growthpoint said that it will continue to invest heavily in Sandton Central, owning the Towers in Alice Lane, the Discovery head office, and the upcoming mixed-use development Olympus Sandton.
Notably, Sandton City itself is actually owned by Liberty and Pareto.
Sandton City boom
Sandton City is the fourth-largest shopping mall in South Africa with 148,000 sqm of GLA, and is associated with wealth due to its location.
The mall ranks below only the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, uMhlanga, Menlyn Mall in Pretoria, and the country’s largest centre, Fourways Mall.
While the last couple of years have been incredibly challenging for retailers and shopping centre owners, Sandton City has now achieved near-perfect occupancy, with only 0.1% of its space vacant.
The mall said that the near-perfect milestone was achieved thanks to a “deliberate repositioning journey”, which entailed rightsizing some retailers, such as Edgars, and curating its tenant mix to appeal to target customers.
Sandton City has concluded 50 new leasing deals and facilitated 46 store upgrades over the last two years, representing more than 30,000 square metres of lettable space.
The centre’s trading density also grew by 12.1% over the same period, outperforming national benchmarks.
Vacancy rates also improved from 3.6% in January 2025 to just 0.1% in October 2025, reflecting the appetite for space among both local and international retailers at the mall.
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