{"id":842460,"date":"2025-11-10T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=842460"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:31:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T09:31:06","slug":"a-top-south-african-shopping-mall-is-completely-empty-except-for-one-fascinating-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/842460\/a-top-south-african-shopping-mall-is-completely-empty-except-for-one-fascinating-store\/","title":{"rendered":"A top South African shopping mall is completely empty except for one fascinating store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The multi-million-rand Lancaster Shopping Centre in Johannesburg is entirely empty except for one interesting store serving a unique community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lancaster Shopping Centre<\/a>, located on Jan Smuts Avenue in Craighall, is within a 10km radius of Hyde Park, Sandhurst, and Craighall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shopping mall built a reputation for convenience and accessibility, serving the surrounding community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is known for its good visibility, ample parking, and convenient access from major roads, making it a popular shopping destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lancaster Shopping Centre previously featured anchor tenants like Pick’n Pay and Planet Fitness, along with various eateries and speciality shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fieldspace Property Group, the owner of the four-storey shopping centre, refurbished the facility in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These refurbishments transformed the mall into a modern neighbourhood centre, retaining its convenience and charm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The revamp included a facelift to make it more appealing and opened it to Jan Smuts Avenue, creating a visual connection to the busy road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MDS Architecture partner Chad Sampson told Construction World that the new design created a contemporary aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt incorporates copper cladding and vintage elements such as black, grey and orange colours on the exterior,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBranding also has a vintage feel on all signage. Greenery along the open areas facing the street softens the building and entices visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group explained that the shopping mall offers abundant parking and round-the-clock security, which enhances safety and peace of mind for all visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that it comprises several well-established shops and is ideally positioned next to prominent office parks, attracting steady foot traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lancaster Shopping Centre is nearly entirely empty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Lancaster Shopping Centre lost two of its anchor tenants, Pick n Pay and Planet Fitness. The latter had a high-end gym in the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2024, Pick \u2018n Pay permanently closed its store in the centre as part of its turnaround strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick \u2018n Pay had been an anchor tenant in the shopping mall for decades, which dealt a significant blow to the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the Pick’n Pay and the Planet Fitness, the shopping centre took a knock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Lancaster Shopping Centre is nearly entirely empty as the Fieldspace Property Group explores redevelopment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe welcome redevelopment opportunities, joint ventures or leasing proposals from large anchor tenants interested in occupying the entire building,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fieldspace Property Group highlighted that the shopping mall is situated within an area ranked in the top 1% nationally by the Living Standards Measure (LSM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to its prime location, the Lancaster Shopping Centre is well positioned to attract a high-income, quality-focused customer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also many nearby amenities and attractions, including educational facilities, upscale residential areas, and a variety of nearby restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only store in the Lancaster Shopping Centre<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Lancaster Shopping Centre currently has only one store, Top Deck, which opened on 31 May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Deck specialises in collectable card games, such as Magic: The Gathering, and other gaming products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magic: The Gathering is a fantasy-themed trading card game created by mathematician Richard Garfield and published by Wizards of the Coast in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s widely considered the first collectable card game and remains one of the most popular and complex strategy games in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from Magic: The Gathering products, Top Deck also offers trading card game accessories, Pok\u00e9mon cards, and board games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The online store, delivering across South Africa, offers products aimed at both casual and serious card collectors and traders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Deck also run Magic: The Gathering leagues and tournaments at their shop in the Lancaster Shopping Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it was the only store in the four-story Lancaster Shopping Centre, it did not seem out of place, considering its unique character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lancaster Shopping Centre photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Top Deck photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The multi-million-rand Lancaster Shopping Centre in Johannesburg is entirely empty except for one interesting store serving a unique community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":842464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[24036,24034,24038,24037,4067,14773,24035,24039],"class_list":["post-842460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-hyde-park","tag-lancaster-shopping-centre","tag-magic-the-gathering","tag-mds-architecture","tag-pick-n-pay","tag-planet-fitness","tag-sandhurst","tag-top-deck"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842460"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":842521,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842460\/revisions\/842521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}