New R370 million shopping mall coming to South Africa

Riverstone Mall in Meyerton, Johannesburg is set to open in early 2025.

The R370 million mall is being developed by Alley Roads and financed by Rand Merchant Bank.

The convenience mall has a gross lettable area (GLA) of 18,000 sqm and expects to have 53 retail tenants, anchored by Checkers Fresh-X, Woolworths Food and Dischem. Other retailers will include Clicks, Truworths, Mr Price and the Pepkor Group.

There will also be 1,000 parking bays, a food court, and two fast-food drive-thru outlets.

A 1908Kva rooftop solar plant will also be installed with a battery backup of 4800Kwh, equivalent to four hours of 1200Kva, allowing the mall to operate during load shedding.

The mall is set to create 1,200 jobs during the construction phase and an estimated 250 permanent jobs.

A second development phase is planned for the mall, comprising 3,000 sqm of motor-related retail.

The development forms part of a broader push to add retail space to previously underserved township and peri-urban areas in South Africa.

“Riverstone Mall forms part of our 175 ,000 sqm development pipeline earmarked for underserved township and peri-urban areas across South Africa,” said Barry Chapman, Chief Executive Officer of Alley Roads

“Our business strategy is premised on building communities that prosper. Affordable housing and retail developments are some of the important drivers required to establish these new nodes.

“Initial market studies show that Meyerton, centrally located between Johannesburg and the Vaal Triangle, is growing at 2% – 3% annually, and the area plays a catalytic role within the R59 development corridor.”

Loyiso Daka, Senior Transactor and Dealmaker at RMB Real Estate, said that there is high demand for quality retail supply in previously underserviced nodes. This retail space plays a crucial role in delivering goods and services to surrounding communities.

“We view this asset class as both being defensive and sustainable as township, and peri-urban retail centres are often representative of the only formal retail offering in their catchment areas,” said Daka.

“They’re typically anchored by high-quality national tenants so the cashflows are relatively stable and predictable even during times of stress, such as the Covid lockdowns, as the primary retail activity is linked to essential goods and services.”

Renderings of the mall can be found below:

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