Roy Cokayne
CONSTRUCTION has commenced on a R320 million shopping centre to service the Botshabelo community in the Free State.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place last week at the site of the 21 000m2 mall, which is being developed by Stanlib, the asset manager of the Liberty Property Portfolio, in partnership with Khora Investments.
The mall is being constructed on a site located on the corner of Main Road and the N8 national highway, providing a much-needed service to the local community, whose nearest shopping mall is about 50km away in Bloemfontein.
Main Road is the key route in and out of Botshabelo from the N8, which is the main transport route between Maseru in Lesotho and Bloemfontein.
The mall is expected to commence trading in the third quarter of next year, and is the first Free State development for the Liberty Property Portfolio, which has a retail portfolio spanning Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Amelia Beattie, the chief investment officer of Stanlib Direct Property Investments, said the Botshabelo Mall development was in line with the Liberty Property Portfolio’s strategic intent to have property located in growing townships.
“Our strategy is to invest in areas where we see opportunities not only to provide investment returns but to also create value for local communities,” she said. “We see huge growth potential in this area both in terms of geography, and the socioeconomic demographic we are catering to will be a diversifier within our portfolio.”
Beattie said the mall development had been well received by top national retailers, with Pick n Pay, Clicks, Foschini, Shoprite, Truworths, Cash Build and Woolworths already committed as tenants.
Alex Phakathi, the fund manager of the Liberty Property Portfolio, said Botshabelo Mall was an exciting new development and would be the first of its kind developed in the community. “We aim to provide customers in the Botshabelo area with an exceptional shopping experience.”
Botshabelo is part of the Mangaung Local Municipality and the single largest township in the Free State.
Phakathi said the vast majority of people did their shopping outside of Botshabelo in Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu where the nearest malls were currently located.