Durban - The Pavilion shopping centre is to be given a R1.1 billion makeover that will include an iconic glass-encased rooftop fine dining and leisure area and Hamleys, the London-based toy shop.
Advanced negotiations are underway with big name international fashion brands to attract them to the new-look, expanded Pavilion. And although the list is being kept under wraps for the moment, one global brand which will be coming to South Africa for the first time will be anchoring the new retail section and occupying two levels.
“The iconic UK-based toy retailer, Hamleys, is also on the cards,” Marius Muller, the chief executive of Pareto Limited, the owners of the Pavilion, said. He made the announcement about the facelift on Tuesday at the SA Council of Shopping Centres’ 19th Annual Congress taking place at the Durban International Convention Centre.
The make-over, which will start next month, will take the Pavilion from 119 000m2 to 139 000m2.
The mega expansion comes after the R220m upgrade last year,
The new phased expansion, the biggest investment since The Pavilion opened in Westville two decades ago, will entrench the centre as one of South Africa’s top super-regional shopping centres.
It is already one of the country’s top five largest malls.
“The centre is going to be transformed with great new attractions, the most spectacular of which is the glass-enclosed rooftop fine dining and leisure area to be called Sky@Pav,” Muller said.
Sky@Pav will cover 2 500m2. The development will also include 1 505 new parking bays.
Another major brand and new offering will be Virgin Active, which will open a 3 200m2 gym. Work will begin on the gym next month, while construction work is due to start on the retail extension in February.
Work will start on the new roof area in October next year. The overall development is expected to take 18 to 20 months.
With competition increasing from new shopping centres and from other existing malls being refurbished, “we needed to do something groundbreaking at the Pavilion. With this R1.1bn project, we are doing just that,” Muller said.
Daily News