$109M Mall Redevelopment in Johannesburg, South Africa

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Johannesburg, South Africa—Hyprop Investments Ltd, a leading specialist retail property fund in Africa, announced work commencing on the R920 million (or $109.5 million) extension and redevelopment of Rosebank Mall.

Previously known as The Mall of Rosebank, the property is located in the highly desirable and affluent Rosebank, a northern suburb of Johannesburg. Johannesburg’s northern suburbs are considered to be the most developed and affluent, with large commercial and housing developments. Rosebank especially, is considered the place for high-end shopping and retail in the northern suburbia.

The project that kicked off recently will double the Rosebank Mall’s size to over 667,000 square feet of leasable area and is Hyprop’s “first step in the company’s largest development undertaking to date,” according to a press release from Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo. Work is expected to take around 25 months to fully complete, with an estimated due date of September 2014. Work, however, will be done is phases, with the first new retail areas opening to the public in the second quarter of 2013.

The mall will also trade through the redevelopment process, with many existing tenants, such as African Craft Market and the popular Sunday Rooftop Market staying on and many even expanding, like Foschini, Stuttafords, Truworth and many more. Upon completion, the shopping center will boast circa 160 local and international retailers. According to Pieter Prinsloo “Supporting local brands is also key to Hyprop’s tenant-mix strategy for Rosebank Mall. (…) The right blend of global brands and popular local retailers will ensure that the mall caters to a wide range of shoppers, increasing its reach and appeal.” Some future tenants have lease agreements already in place, such as anchor tenants Edgars, with a double level store and Woolworths Platinum, with a full line store. Pringle, Earthchild, Kurt Geiger and Ben Sherman are among future new boutique tenant.

Also part of Rosebank Mall’s overhaul is a complete refurbishing of the structure: lighting, ceilings, floor tiles, ablutions, elevators and shopfronts will be entirely replaced. Five levels of basement parking will also be added, to accommodate a larger influx of traffic. The existing structure and future addition will blend into an oval shape, resembling a racetrack and ensuring a smooth flow between levels and different areas.  Developers plan to not only blend into, but fully utilize the suburb’s strong pedestrian lifestyle, so rare to Johannesburg.

Hyprop is Africa’s leading specialist retail property fund with a niche focus on high quality shopping centers based in South Africa, with a portfolio including 11 prime shopping centers totaling over 7,756,000 square feet and   R20 billion (over $2.39 billion) in assets under management.

Johannesburg is South Africa’s largest city population wise, with a metro population of almost 3.9 million. Metropolitan Johannesburg also has the largest economy of any Sub-Saharan metro area and is in the world’s top 50 metro areas.