Pretoria - In just two weeks the R1.8 billion Menlyn Maine Central Square will open its doors to the public.
The 65 000m² development can be described as a boutique-style mall, which will have 50 hand-picked retailers, restaurants and entertainment experiences. The development, situated near the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, is scheduled to open on September 21.
“At Central Square you’ll also find a mix of features such as a piazza, public park, hotel, apartments, conferencing, offices, hospital, sporting facilities and selected retail shops and restaurants,” said Henk Boogertman, architectural director for Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings.
He said that as the centre of Menlyn Maine, Central Square was uniquely crafted to be ideal for convenient daily shopping.
One of the main features will be a two-level Virgin Active classic gym, the first in Pretoria.
Central Square will also provide a park that runs in a strip through the whole precinct; it starts with a private park for its residential quarter, then goes through the buildings and alongside the development, ending in a big park and piazza feature in front of the spectacular Sun International's Time Square at Menlyn Main Casino.
The five-star hotel and 8 000-seater multipurpose arena development planned for Menlyn Maine is still under construction.
Boogertman said he did not want Central Square to be thought of as a shopping mall, but instead as an urban lifestyle centre.
“It will be aspirational in the sense that if people enjoy quality, they will come here.”
Some of the business that have booked their place in the mall are Spar, Woolworths, Pick n Pay and Tasha's.
Central Square was described as design-driven with the overall architecture of the building being contemporary and timeless, and also unique in appearance, shape and form.
The building is crowned with a glass roof, and one of the major features is the open-air dining facility that the development will allow for.
Each shop has an exclusive, bespoke front made of steel, aluminium and wood - all in shades of charcoal black.
The piazza will have restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and a hotel that will be set around it. There will also be 1 800 basement parking bays and 300 open parking bays.
It is co-owned by Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings and the Government Employees Pension Fund.
“Our vision was to develop the most exciting retail and entertainment experience of the highest possible standard at the heart of our new city centre, one that offers an outstanding boutique-styled shopping and leisure experience. This will not only be a great work of architecture, but also a real asset to its owners, retailers and customers,” Boogbertmman said.
The square is located minutes from Atterbury and Garsfontein interchanges and will have six access points from the N1 highway.
It will be just one of the features of Menlyn Maine, the ground-breaking 315 000m² decentralised green city mega-development.
Menlyn Maine is one of 16 green cities being built in various countries and the only one in Africa.
All the buildings in the precinct are set to be rated 4 Green Star SA or higher.
A leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ND certification has been earmarked for the precinct.
Sun International’s Time Square at Menlyn Main Casino is scheduled to open in September next year and is expected to create 10 000 jobs during the construction phase and 2 200 sustainable jobs.
The rest of the precinct will take about four or five more years to complete at a cost of about R10bn.
Menlyn Maine will be home to a:
5-star Sun International hotel
Sun International Time Square at Menlyn Main Casino
Central Square
4-star Central Square Business Hotel
3-star 200 room hotel
Commercial business district
400 residential apartments
2100 parking bays