Major facelift for Nyanga Junction

New owners set out to improve landmark shopping centre’s looks, access and line-up of shops

THE NYANGA Junction Shopping Centre has been bought by Fairvest Property Holdings Ltd and is being given a makeover.

The 10 000m2 shopping centre, flanking the busy Nyanga train station on the Gugulethu and Manenberg routes, also has new retail tenants.

Among them is Shoprite, which opened its doors on October 24, offering opening specials that are running until November 2.

Among the other tenants riding the wave of the new refurbishment are two Rage Clothing stores – one of which stocks ladies’ shoes and the other shoes and clothing – Joshua Doore and a new- look Fashion World.

The Family Planning Clinic is moving to a bigger and better position on the station level.

The refurbishment of the centre is being carried out by MLB Architects.

“The focus will be on improving the overall appearance,” says Xico Meirelles of MLB Architects.

“We want to open the centre up and make it more accessible to shoppers – giving it a complete facelift.”

The project involves repairing the roof, painting the exterior, upgrading all four entrances, creating a new food court, improving lighting levels, the installation of Shoprite as the new food anchor, and upgrading the security system.

“A key focus of the redevelopment has been to improve the customer experience by upgrading the lighting levels, improving tenant signage, directional signage and the overall retail offering and upgrading the security so that shoppers feel

‘A key focus of the redevelopment is to improve the customer experience. The security of shoppers and tenants is a priority’

safe in the centre,” says Fairvest Property Holdings’ chief operating officer, Adam Marcus.

“Security features include turnstiles at each entrance, a new secur i t y c a mera i n s t a l l a t i o n , a n upgraded security complement and armed response.

“The security of shoppers and tenants has been a priority in plan- ning the refurbishment of Nyanga Junction.

“We are confident that the upgrade will also attract new tenants and greatly improve shoppers’ experience of the centre.

“For most of them the centre is a regular part of their daily commute, as the centre is right at the Nyanga train station.

“The Shoprite opening in October completed the first phase of the redevelopment, and the rest of the construction work is set to start in January.”

Fairvest is a property investment holding company listed in the real estate holdings and development sector of JSE Limited.

In December, Fairvest raised equity of R250 million in a vendor consideration placement, which was oversubscribed.

The market capitalisation of the company was R396m on January 31.

Fairvest’s investment strategy is to build a retail-focused property portfolio comprising properties that predominantly target lower-income consumers, or which are in nonmetropolitan areas that have the potential for value enhancement through active management and which can be acquired at attractive yields.

Fairvest also targets larger retail centres that are dominant in the areas they serve.

ADDING VALUE: Shoprite opened at Nyanga Junction on October 24 and is to add value to a commuter hub.