Lakeside Mall, Benoni, has introduced two new anchor tenants in the form of Pick n Pay and Dis-Chem to its 130-strong retailer mix and concluded the final phase of a three-year, R135-million upgrade programme.
Pick n Pay opened at Lakeside Mall in a 2,500sqm store and Dis-Chem in a 1,400sqm store at the end of July 2020, amid the COVID-19 national lockdown. Pick n Pay Liquor will open in a 130sqm premises when it is permitted to do so in terms of lockdown regulations.
Placing these popular national retail brands side-by-side has created a powerful anchor that balances and complements the weighty combined appeal of Lakeside Mall’s Woolworths, Shoprite and Clicks on the opposite side of the 67,000sqm regional shopping centre.
The reconfigured space represents 4,900sqm of gross lettable retail area. There is only one 790sqm high-profile position remaining in the new configuration, and it has a brand-new external-facing shopfront on the mall’s prominent west facade, overlooking Bunyan Street. The mall is being highly selective in handpicking a tenant for this area, to add to the strength of the new retail mix.
The redevelopment concludes Growthpoint’s three-year, multimillion-rand programme of investment and improvement at Lakeside Mall. In 2018, it began upgrading the mall’s interior to achieve a beautiful modernised aesthetic. This refurbishment created a clean, contemporary look with new entrances, ceilings, tiles, columns, handrails, upgraded ablution facilities and energy-efficient lighting. All these elements add to its quality experience and ease of shopping.
Rudolf Pienaar, Chief Development and Investment Officer at Growthpoint, comments, “Our experienced in-house development team and specialised retail property team worked hand-in-hand to find the best ways to optimise the value and appeal of Lakeside Mall. We are genuinely thrilled at the result of its refurbishment, reconfiguration and re-tenanting, and the phenomenally positive impact that this project is already having for the mall overall.”
The recent upgrades, alternations and additions refreshed and enhanced the unique features of Lakeside Mall including its 160-metre long steamboat that appears to be floating on Benoni’s Civic Lake and its town square surrounded by the facades of buildings within the mall’s building.
The addition of the latest leading retailer names to the mall has been a long-time in the making. In 2014, Lakeside Mall’s 5,000sqm 13-cinema complex closed and remained empty.
Mark Langley, Retail: Head of Development at Growthpoint Properties, reveals, “The reconfiguration and introduction of Pick n Pay and Dis-Chem to Lakeside Mall was made possible by Shoprite waiving the exclusivity clause in its lease for the benefit of the shopping centre and its customers, which is commendable indeed. We are incredibly proud of this redevelopment, which fundamentally improves Lakeside Mall as a whole.”
To restructure the former cinema space for retail purposes, Lakeside Mall’s owner, Growthpoint Properties, invested R75-million in its redevelopment. The major project proved to be quite a challenge, with demolition and construction work taking place within a busy, trading mall. The mall area in question was initially built for specialised cinemas, which are very different structurally from shops with large trading floors. Removing the internal structural pillars was a particularly challenging element of the project.
