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<\/a><\/p>\nA new 28,000 square metre regional mall has opened its doors in Ermelo, serving the Gert Sibande District in Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n
The Merino Mall development, owned by Moolman Group and Abland, opened its doors last week, having been under construction for 15 months and in development for even longer.<\/p>\n
At 28,600 square metres, the mall marks the\u00a0first shopping centre of its substantial size to be developed within a 100-kilometre radius in the area.<\/p>\n
Merino Mall\u2019s retail mix comprises 90 stores with anchors Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Clicks, as well as the first Crazy Plastics and Dis-Chem in the area.<\/p>\n
Other retail firsts for Ermelo include Cape Union Mart, PNA, @Home, Queenspark, Old Khaki, Crazy Pets and Refinery.<\/p>\n
The shopping centre also has a fashion node, banking facilities and restaurants.<\/p>\n
The mall was designed by MDS Architecture, with the exterior inspired by the original showground barn structures, with the barn shape becoming a key design feature. The existing barn structure was retained and incorporated into the new building.<\/p>\n
The mall also has its own solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that produces green energy, allowing the mall to trade during load shedding.<\/p>\n
According to the developers, the property even has a sewer treatment plant that will recycle grey water back into the building to achieve water savings.<\/p>\n
Other features include 1,743 parking bays in an on-grade, safe and secure parking area, with reserved parking for shoppers with special needs close to entrances. It also includes a taxi rank, and shoppers will also be able to connect to the fast fibre Wi-Fi network.<\/p>\n
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