A look at the new R200 million shopping mall being built in South Africa

November 9, 2022 Adam Kruger

Work has started on at least three new mall projects in Limpopo, with the 11,500 square metre Tshakhuma Corner breaking ground in early October.

The mall, developed by McCormick Property Development and designed by MDS Architecture, is valued at R200 million and is set for completion in October 2023, alongside two other developments in the area – the 13,500 square metre Vuwani Mall and Bungeni Mall.

According to the developers, Tshakhuma Corner will bring much-needed retail capacity to the Vhembe district of Limpopo, and is the 72nd retail development by McCormick.

McCormick is a specialist in rural retail development in South Africa and is part of the Exemplar REITail group, which owns and manages many of these new builds.

The Tshakhuma site is adjacent to one of the largest rural fruit and vegetable markets in the province and allows for a number of community-focused opportunities that both MPD and Exemplar, the asset owner and manager arm of the group, have become synonymous with.

Tshakhuma Corner will be an enclosed single-level development with ample parking. The building takes water and electricity challenges into account – both solar and wastewater management initiatives were included from the initial planning stages of the project.

“The mall has been designed with two prominent entrances which are softened by climbing greenery,” said Louis Pretorius, partner at MDS Architecture. “These feature cladding and prominent signage punctuated by pops of bright colour in order to create a border around each entrance.”

Some of the tenants of the new development include Shoprite, Capitec Bank, Standard Bank, seven of the Foschini Group’s stores, five stores from Pepkor Holdings and four stores from the Mr Price Group.

Work is expected to commence shortly on Vuwani Mall and Bungeni Mall in the area, which are also McCormick Property Development projects.

South Africa is experiencing a boom in shopping mall development, with new builds popping up far outside urban centres.

Four new malls opened their doors at the end of October, all within the space of a few days, specifically targeting rural and remote communities where demand for large retail environments is growing.

Urban centres are not out of the loop, however, with large malls still being built in the country’s big cities.

Notably, energy stability is becoming increasingly important in these projects – both new builds and established centres. Redefine Group revealed earlier this week that it is making a big push into solar at the shopping malls in its portfolio, expecting to spend R125 million getting renewable energy into the mix.

Like Thsakhuma Corner, other new builds are also making provision for solar energy in their plans.