{"id":850936,"date":"2026-02-13T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=850936"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:35:11","slug":"massive-shopping-mall-in-south-africa-set-for-grand-opening-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/850936\/massive-shopping-mall-in-south-africa-set-for-grand-opening-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive shopping mall in South Africa set for grand opening this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The owners of Boardwalk Mall in Gqeberha are spending R60 million to extend the mall, aiming to expand the centre’s dominance in the Eastern Cape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new phase will add 2,584 sqm of gross lettable area, along with new leisure offerings, including padel courts, a five-a-side soccer facility, and the local favourite, Jacks Bagels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1,805 sqm of new retail space will be created within the new popular Sun Park. The development is scheduled for completion in November 2026, with construction starting in January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extended portion of the mall will be co-owned by Changing Tides, a Flanagan & Gerard company, which will hold a 60% stake, alongside Dondolo Property Trust (20%) and Emfuleni Resorts (20%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flanagan & Gerard is the activity as the developer of the extension, with MDS appointed as the architects and Techni Construction as the main contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Gerard, Managing Director of the Flanagan & Gerard Group, said the Boardwalk Mall expansion is a direct response to sustained demand from both national and independent retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the strong interest from established national brands that could not be accommodated in the original development, existing tenants are also looking to expand their footprints in the mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoardwalk Mall has consistently outperformed expectations since its relaunch in September 2022, and we have reached the point where this extension allows us to respond to that demand in a way that enhances the overall experience of the centre,\u201d\u00a0said Gerard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance metrics have also underlined the mall’s success, with over 1,2 million customers in the last two December months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 2025 turnover reached R114 million, with 11 of 12 months in 2025 showing positive year-on-year turnover growth. The group is also fully letted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boardwalk Mall <\/h2>\n\n\n
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The mall’s expansion will introduce new brands, including Mr Price, Mr Price Home, FARO, Cape Union Mart and Polo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two elements of the expansion are being delivered in phases, with the relocated Magic Company set to open in September 2026, ahead of the other new tenants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 237 sqm expansion of Woolworths opened on 21 November 2025, which became the first Woolworths Premium Local store in the Eastern Cape. The upgraded store has seen immediate success, with footfall increasing 67% <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extension will follow the same design principles as the existing mall to ensure aesthetic and functional continuity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another focus of the extension is to strengthen physical and visual linkages within the centre, especially between the existing atrium and the Checkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the motivations for expanding into the Sun Park was to improve cross-shopping and pedestrian flow,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Boardwalk Mall manager Fredrick Sematimba.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new configuration will create a more cohesive, intimate Sun Park environment that connects seamlessly with the rest of the centre and is activated by quality retail and leisure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a connected development, the Capital Boardwalk Hotel is set to open in April 2026. The six-storey development will offer 145 rooms across a series of configurations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel will also feature a signature restaurant seating up to 140 guests, as well as a state-of-the-art conference centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to continue evolving Boardwalk Mall as a place where people can shop, socialise and enjoy spending their time, rather than simply passing through,” noted Gerard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Boardwalk Mall Images<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Boardwalk Mall is undergoing a large expansion, with the mall set to get padel courts and 5-a-side soccer facility. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":850943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[24749,24748,19939],"class_list":["post-850936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-dondolo-property-trust","tag-emfuleni-resorts","tag-flanagan-gerard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850936","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850936"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":850970,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850936\/revisions\/850970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}