A first look at Pretoria’s new R1.2 billion Capital Mall

Property developers, McCormick, have been given the greenlight by the City of Tshwane to build Capital Mall – the R1.2 billion corner stone of its proposed ‘Capital City’ mixed-use development.

The double level mall will anchor the mixed-use development within the node, which also includes a 150 bed private hospital, a Value Centre, motor dealerships, affordable housing, schooling and community facilities.

“Situated on the planned N4/R55 interchange, Capital Mall has direct access approved off both the N4 highway and WF Nkomo (Church) Street. The space will also  allow for the Mall to expand to over 100,000sqm in time – well aligned to the massive population growth within the region,” the developer said.

“We have seen the potential of this area for decades and know that this development will be a game-changer for the community of Pretoria West as well as the retailers that are included in this iconic development,” said MD of McCormick Property, Jason McCormick.

The development of the mall will be phased, with the 60,000sqm first phase set to open in 2020.

Other new malls

While the new Capital Mall development will be the biggest to date for McCormick Property, its just one of 26 retail developments in the company’s development pipeline, all focused on areas with significant under supply of retail facilities to satisfy their rapidly expanding markets, it said.

McCormick said that this year will also see ground being broken at the Mall of Tembisa – a phased development that has the potential to reach over 100,000sqm.

Situated just off Olifantsfontein Road, the first phase will consist of over 43,000sqm of retail space and includes two proposed transport hubs, formalised schooling and high density residential units which will all contribute to the new landmark mall.

Shopping malls continue to be big business in South Africa, with a December Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) report finding that local malls are growing in size.

This trend towards larger centres may be explained by developers opting for larger formats in order to dominate its immediate catchment area and attract a higher proportion of national tenants, thus strengthening the centre’s position within its catchment area, the report said.

The data also indicates that proposed centres planned in the country’s city regions, local/niche towns and service towns are all now 100% larger compared to those developed during the 2000s.

As of July 2017, the South African retail development pipeline measures 1.9 million square metres across 68 centres – the bulk of which is planned for completion in 2018.

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