Cornubia mall work well advanced
WORK is well advanced on Durban’s newest shopping mall in the northern development corridor.
Set to open in September next year, the 85 000m² mall is rising from old sugar cane fields alongside the M41 at Flanders Road. Construction started in March. The R1.8 billion centre is expected to attract foot traffic from the neighbouring residential areas such as Mount Edgecombe to the south-west, Phoenix to the west and Cornubia to the north.
The mall’s first phase, measuring 65 999m², had attracted a range of outlets, said the developers.
The mall is roughly half the size of the Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Investec Property has reportedly put together a distinctive and differentiated tenant mix and design, with two supermarkets and 1 630 on-grade parking bays and 1 608 basement bays. The mall is close to the Umhlanga and Mount Edgecombe interchange and adjacent to the Cornubia Town Centre where a few development stands remain available.
The Greenfields development is a national project linked to the Breaking new Ground policy launched in 2008 by the government with 25 000 new housing units and light industrial and business operation sites.
The development is expected to house the athletes’ village for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Karen Peterson, the development director at Tongaat-Hullett Development, described the development as spatially “holistic”.
“The centre is one of the key amenities in the 1 200ha mixed-use development which stretches from Umhlanga towards the King Shaka airport,” she said.
Construction started in March and the building progress is at the second floor level.
Darryl Mayers, who is the joint head at Investec Property, said the shopping centre, which was designed by Bentel Associates, was 80% let with national food retailers such as Checkers, Pick n Pay and Woolworths and clothing retailers, including Edgars and Truworths, having taken up space.
A Virgin Active gym was signed up, a Cycle Lab megastore and a trampoline park. Other tenants included Nu Metro, Outdoor Warehouse, Dis-Chem, Clicks and Bakos Brothers.
Mayers said that the mall was being designed for families and that convenience was an important consideration.
“At its heart, there will be an open-air ‘town square’, comprising alfresco-style restaurants, tapas bars, coffee houses and fast food outlets as well as double-level concept stores. In addition, the mall will offer a mix of fashion, lifestyle and sports outlets, all integrated into an outdoor, family-oriented shopping destination.”
The design incorporates the convenience of a retail park combined with the sophistication of a mall with differentiated retail experiences, each unique in their architectural language and style and interconnected by landscaped walkways, bridges and pavements. In addition, the road network is integrated as part of the development so that shoppers can park and shop with ease.
“We do not see this as competing with Gateway,” Petersen said. “We envisage the two centres being complementary to each other, creating a massive super-node between them.
“In the same way, we see the Umhlanga Town Centre and the Cornubia Town Centre as having a paired utility.
“Access between the two will be greatly enhanced by the bridge which is under construction over the N2 linking Cornubia Boulevard with Umhlanga Ridge Boulevard and forming part of the GO!Durban integrated rapid public transport network,” she said.