Newcastle Mall scoops SA's top centre award

Newcastle Mall scoops SA's top centre award


The Newcastle Mall took top honours at the SA Council of Shopping Centres annual Retail Design and Development Awards at the council's 17th annual congress in Sandton this week, scooping the award for the best new shopping centre development in South Africa as well as the overall Spectrum Award.



The Newcastle Mall.

Developed at a cost of R400 million by Zenprop Property Holdings and Durban businessman Vivian Reddy, the Newcastle Mall beat the Nicol Square shopping centre in Bryanston to the top award.

The mall was officially opened in March last year by President Jacob Zuma. It was the first regional shopping centre in the northern KwaZuluNatal industrial hub and has 38 000m of retail space and 88 shops, including anchor tenants Checkers, Game, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Edgars.

The Newcastle Mall is next to Tsogo Sun's Black Rock Casino and Hotel, on the corner of Oak Avenue and Ladysmith Road and in close proximity to the N11.

Speaking on the sidelines of the South African Shopping Centre Congress, Lawrence Joubert, the divisional director of Zenprop, said they were delighted with the award.

Design elements that made it stand out included its high quality finishes and landscaping, combined with an abundance of natural light, which resulted in reduced lighting requirements and electricity consumption. It was designed by Vivid Architects.

'The mall has been a huge success and has been trading well since opening just more than a year ago. Our investment is paying off and Newcastle Mall has made a significant positive impact on the area, not just attracting shoppers from Newcastle, but from some 14 neighbouring towns,' he said.

Joubert said Zenprop had recently reported that the mall generated more than R818 million of retail turnover in its first year of operation.

'The mall has an average footfall of 445 655 shoppers a month. The footfall peaks during weekends as the residents of surrounding towns, including Madadeni, Osizweni, Dundee, Utrecht, Vryheid, Volksrust and Ladysmith, frequent the mall for their monthly purchases and enjoy the safe and secure social and leisure environment,' he said.

Joubert said Newcastle was a fast-growing manufacturing hub, and further investments in the town presented a sustainable economic environment for the mall and its tenants.

Zenprop was looking at expanding the mall by 20 000m² in the next few years.

Meanwhile, during the congress, the SA Shopping Centre Council signed a partnership agreement with the International Council of Shopping Centres, which will see its members benefit from the services of the international body.

Marius Muller, the president of the South African council, said it was a landmark partnership that would see South Africa becoming part of an international platform.

Mike Kercheval, the chief executive of the international council, said the signing of the agreement would make all 2 200 members of the South African council also members of the world's largest real estate association, which had 23 000 members.

The Mercury

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