Akani Properties, owner of Glen Village Shopping Centre has announced plans to invest more than US $42M in refurbishing its shopping centres Autumn Leaf and Glen Village Malls and building a new mall in South Africa.
“We are unfazed by the impact of Covid-19, which has left other landlords scrambling to for tenants, especially in bigger malls as consumers favored smaller convenience centres since the pandemic hit SA’s shores. This investment is testament to our belief that the worst is behind us, and the recovery of the economy is on the cards,” said Akani MD Zamani Letjane.
Under the planned projects covering Autumn Leaf and Glen Village Malls, US $26M will be invested in Autumn Leaf Mall project, which is already under development in Zeerust. The project had stalled following objection to its construction from community members of the small farming town. It later on resumed it is due to open in September 2022.
Also Read:Construction of eKhaya Mall in Govan South Africa begins
Strategic position
According to the project developers, the mall’s location puts it in a good strategic position, especially now that rural and smaller convenience centres are proving to be more resilient than their big metropolitan counterparts. Furthermore, Zeerust is a transit town between South Africa and Botswana and is one of the growing economic nodes in the North West.
US $16M will be used to upgrade the Glen Village Mall in Pretoria East. This will include an extension of the mall and is set to be completed in November 2022. The company will also install renewable energy generation capacity in these malls to cushion them against load shedding.
“As long-term investors, we have taken a long-term view on South Africa’s economic recovery. We are also at an advanced stage of developing more shopping malls around the country as we seek to boost our portfolio of retail properties,” said Letjane.
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