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Johannesburg - Retail Africa, the specialist shopping-centre developer, will strike gold when it builds a new R500m mall in the Free State mining town of Welkom.
Not only is this one of the biggest retail property developments in the province to date, it will also be a catalyst for economic growth and stimulate a significant number of job opportunities.
The new 34 000m² Goldfields Mall will be built on the periphery of Welkom's central business district, with access from State Avenue.
Lease agreements have already been concluded with national retailers like Checkers, as well as the Edcon, Foschini, Truworths and Pepkor groups, reports Richard O'Sullivan, Retail Africa's national leasing manager.
He explains that the current retail offering in Welkom comprises a number of small centres, but the new mall is the first large shopping project to consolidate several shops in one safe development with adequate parking.
As far as the current difficult retail environment is concerned, he reckons Retail Africa is a long-term owner of shopping centres and looks to the future. "Now is therefore the right time to begin developing, especially since it can take 12 months to two years to get off the ground." Goldfields Mall has a catchment area of more than 400 000 consumers, which includes Welkom and its surrounds, as well as towns like Virginia, Odendaalsrus and Hennenman. The construction phase will create about 1 600 temporary jobs.
Construction has already begun and the centre is expected to open its doors in October 2010.
- Sake24.com
For more business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.