Retail regeneration therapy
The developer behind the expansion of the Liberty Promenade Shopping Centre in South Africa hopes that the work will not only be of benefit to national and local retailers but to businesses and residents in the surrounding community.
WeÔÇÖve all heard of the term ÔÇÿretail therapyÔÇÖ; but in the Western Cape region of South Africa, shopping really has helped to improve life for a whole community.
The Liberty Promenade Shopping Centre only opened for business seven years ago, but plans for a large-scale expansion project were confirmed by its owner, South Africa-based Liberty Properties, in March last year.
Situated close to the central business district of Mitchells Plain, a previously disadvantaged area of the country, the centre has proved to be an unmitigated success since opening. When details of the R300 million expansion project were announced, Caswell Rampheri, managing director of the developer, Liberty Property Development, commented: ÔÇ£The addition of some 24,000 metres squared will make Liberty Promenade the biggest shopping centre in a previously disadvantaged area in South Africa.ÔÇØ
Mitchells Plain, a township located roughly 20 kilometres from Cape Town, is South AfricaÔÇÖs fourth largest township and for years suffered from the effects of youth crime. It was against this tough social backdrop that Liberty Promenade officially opened in 2003; however, it experienced instant success. ┬á
Home to over 120 stores including national retailers like Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Game, Truworths and Edgars, Liberty Promenade quickly built up an excellent reputation, attracting over one million visitors per month. The phenomenal response resulted in Liberty Properties acquiring the centre just one year after it opened.
Liberty Properties, a division of Liberty Holdings, already had extensive experience in the retail sector, including investments in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Sandton City Shopping Centre and the Liberty Midlands Mall in Pietermaritzburg.
ÔÇ£Gathering from the historical statistics and subsequent feasibility study that we conducted, it was clear that the shopping centre was very successful right at the outset,ÔÇØ stated Roger Corlett, managing director of Liberty Properties, shortly after the acquisition.
Over the past few years, there has been increasing demand for further retailing space from major national tenants and further potential retailers. Prior to the decision to expand, market research within the local community also revealed a demand for enhanced entertainment facilities on site. The expansion, scheduled for completion by the end of 2010, will include an entertainment wing that will be home to a Ster Kinekor cinema and additional dining outlets.
Among the retailers to benefit from the expansion will be small business traders, who will be able to sell their goods from purpose-built units close to the main entrance. At the other end of the retail scale, the Pick n Pay outlet will undergo a 5,500 square metre extension, transforming it into a Pick n Pay Hyper and making it one of the companyÔÇÖs largest stores in the Western Cape area.
The new development has been designed with the local community very much in mind, prompting Rampheri to state: ÔÇ£The Liberty Promenade expansion project represents more than the creation of a landmark retail development. We want this mall to be considered a centre of goodwill for the local people. Our expansion plans demonstrate our commitment to bolster further development in the area, be it entrepreneurship or job creation. It will be a requirement of the tender process for all major contractors to include local suppliers in the project wherever possible.ÔÇØ
Indeed, it is believed that approximately 33.4 per cent of the projectÔÇÖs current workforce is made up from the local communities of Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Phillipi. Other early benefactors were local suppliers, as the first phase of developmentÔÇöentitled the Enabling Works PhaseÔÇögot underway in February 2009. During those early stages, Bradis Earthworks and Demolitions removed 4,500 cubic metres of unsuitable rubble from the site and hacked up 12,500 metres of concrete slabs, crushing 2,500 cubic metres of these into re-usable layer work material for the new parking and mall areas.
This prepared the site for the Principal Works Construction Phase. The fencing contract was awarded to Concretex, with Liberty Promenade donating some 910 metres of the old palisade fencing to the local Portlands High School.
A covered walkway is to be installed; while security, always a serious concern, includes a new sophisticated surveillance system and the replacement of the former security perimeter with over one kilometre of a stronger concrete palisade structure. Further improvements will come from the creation of a new storm water system, foul sewer, sprinkler and fire water mains supply, with the civils and infrastructure works contract being awarded to Bradis Earthworks and Demolitions.
Energy efficiency has also been tailored into the development, with Goddards Electrical upgrading the electricity supply. The mallÔÇÖs ceiling will include accent lighting; meanwhile, the introduction of sky lighting will introduce natural daylight to the complex.
And it is not just the interior that is in for an image change. The upgrades will create a different external appearance to the shopping mallÔÇöthe proposed new entrance will feature wind lobbies and external canopies, while the external areas will include new paving and landscaped gardening which will be home to indigenous trees and shrubs.
The expansion will also provide a further 1,000 free parking spaces on site, in addition to the existing 2,000 spaces; Liberty Promenade will also continue to provide selected parking bays for shoppers with physical disabilities.
Liberty Promenade has a history of social responsibility initiatives, such as its Literacy For Liberty spelling competition for learners in grades 4, 5 and 6 from schools in Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein; and it is anticipated that the expansion will continue to benefit the local community.
"Liberty Properties recognises Mitchells Plain as one of the fastest-growing residential areas in the Western Cape. The intention of the refurbishment is to re-establish Liberty Promenade as a valuable community resource and focal point," Rampheri summarised.
