The first phase of the redevelopment of the Blue Route Mall in Tokai, Cape Town, which began in April, is well underway with completion scheduled for March 2012.
The demolition of the upper and lower parking decks have already been completed and new shops being built on the west side of the centre to accommodate several existing tenants.
As the 40-year-old mall was considered spatially dated, the owner and developer Fountainhead Property Trust opted to build a new mall from the ground up, with the exception of the existing Checkers Hyper store, after commissioning professional research into the feasibility of the project. The estimated cost of the redevelopment is about R862m.
The mall will be built on the footprint of the former parking deck and section of the mall west of the current Woolworths store. The Checkers Hyper store will be linked to the new building, says centre manager, Wendy Radford of Broll Properties.
Trade will continue during the 30-month redevelopment period, with existing tenants temporarily rehoused on site during construction.
The new centre will comprise two retail floors of about 29,000sqm each, with a covered parking level below. The project will see an additional 8,000sqm of retail space being added, increasing the gross lettable area (GLA) from 48,000sqm to 56,000sqm. However, says Radford, the footprint of the new building will be less than that of the existing centre, in which all the shops are spread over a large single-storey area.
Architect Louis Karol, who designed the Victoria Wharf retail centre at the V&A Waterfront, has veered away from “the typical insular-style of current shopping centre designs” and focused on maximising the natural light entering the mall and the beautiful surrounds. The design incorporates large sculptural skylights, as well as an extensive balcony, restaurant and public areas with panoramic views.
A dedicated new food court will be built on the north-west elevation. The food court will be complemented by several other upmarket coffee shops and restaurants located throughout the centre.
A six-cinema Ster Kinekor complex, also with mountain views, will be built on the current Boardmans site.
The two main entrances on the south-east side of the building will be connected by a glassed sub-mall that will light up the surface-level parking lot and pedestrian approach.
This will show activity within the mall at all times, contributing positively towards security. There will also be a strong focus on ensuring mall security through the installation of CCTV and a 24-hour guarding service.
The walkways within the building will be wide and generous, with most being double volume spaces to enable shoppers on the ground floor to see the stores on the upper level, creating a visual link between the two floors. Escalators, lifts and several staircases throughout the centre will physically connect the two levels.
Shopfronts will be modern and uncluttered. The number of shops will increase from the current 103 to approximately 137 tenants, with many already secured for the opening. Radford adds that discussions are also presently underway with several tenants that are not currently represented in the mall or the southern suburbs. “The aim is to create an aspirational shopping centre, which will incorporate more unique boutique-style stores to attract a more niche and affluent target audience, as well as shoppers from further afield,” she says.
“The tenant mix will include fashion, electronics, homeware, groceries, jewellery and accessories.”
The new mall will be anchored by a Woolworths store of about 6,000sqm and a modern new Edgars store of some 4,000sqm, both trading on two levels. The existing entrance to the third anchor, Checkers Hyper, will be enhanced and linked to the centre court of the new mall, with the same wall, floor and ceiling finishes carried through. An additional link will be created directly into Checkers Hyper’s adjacent House & Home store.
New toilet facilities, including baby-changing rooms and paraplegic toilets, will be provided on both floors.
As parking availability was a problem, a substantial surface-level parking lot will be provided directly in front of the mall’s two main entrances, in addition to covered parking with escalator access direct to the mall. The number of bays will be increased to about 3,000, including at least 1,300 undercover bays, on completion of the project.
The open parking area will be broken up into different zones by planting a variety of mainly indigenous trees, and there will be pedestrian walkways, rest areas with bench seating, dedicated paraplegic parking bays, taxi bays and special drop-off bays for the elderly close to the entrance, and landscaped gardens at the main entrance.
The footprint of the new mall will not negatively affect the flow of traffic to the surrounding roads. In fact, the introduction of a new slip road off Tokai Road should reduce the traffic pressure on the existing Vans Road intersection.
The redevelopment will be carried out in several further phases. The second phase will involve bulk excavations, including stripping the back section of the building to prepare it for demolition, and piling the open parking area.
Construction of the new mall, which is being carried out Grinaker-LTA, will begin in the third phase, when the ground floor structure will be built. This is scheduled for completion around March or April 2011. The balance of the structure, including the first floor, ring beams and plant room will be completed around July 2011.
The finishes will be completed in the fourth phase. In the final two phases, tenants will be relocated to their new premises, and the remains of the old centre will be demolished. The new mall is scheduled for completion in March 2012, and the mall parking by September 2012.