The R1.4 billion Ballito Junction shopping mall is undergoing a major R120 million facelift, expected to be completed by November 2023.
The 80,000 square metre regional mall on KwaZulu-Natal’s Dolphin Coast started as a 10,000 square metre convenience centre but expanded to eight times its original size in 2017.
It is owner-managed by the investment consortium of Flanagan & Gerard Property Group and Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings, which embarked on the upgrade in February 2023.
As part of the upgrade project, the current Pick n Pay entrance will be enclosed, and the adjoining external section of the mall will be expanded to make space for several exciting new restaurants and speciality tenants, all arranged around an attractive piazza.
In addition to enclosing the entrance, space for three new restaurants will be created, spilling out onto the piazza.
The mall currently features 200 stores and six anchor tenants – Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Checkers, Edgars, Game and Nu Metro – with the new form making way for additional brands from new and existing retailers.
Ballito Junction before the upgrade. Source: Facebook.
The upgrade will allow for an enhanced offering by certain existing retail tenants, including Pick n Pay, Pick n Pay Liquor, Polo, Pick n Pay Clothing, Rage, Dial a Bed, Crazy Store, and Sorbet, whilst also creating space for a line-up of new and exciting retailers.
New brands recently added to the current retail mix include Kingsley Heath, Samsung, Carrol Boyes, Rochester, Uniq, Checkers Outdoor, Pet Shop Science, Little Me, Yokico, Gary Rom Man, Spar Pharmacy, Sneakerhead and Tape.
The Ballito Junction refurbishment will also see exciting international brands coming to the KZN North Coast, including Starbucks and Krispy Kreme.
Added to this is the new offering of Catia Restaurant, previously Piccadilly Café, with a bespoke dining concept for the Ballito market.
“The aim of this project is to match the old section with the modern and contemporary look of the mall, while creating an experiential node centred around entertainment and speciality offerings,” said Geraldine Jorgensen, CEO of Ballito Junction.
In addition to the retail space, the completed development will also encompass mixed-use spaces, including flexible working offices from Workshop 17.
W17 offers working space to entrepreneurs, remote workers and decentralised teams.
Paul Gerard, Managing Director of Flanagan & Gerard Group, noted that large volumes of people in higher income brackets, including families semigrating from Gauteng, are relocating to the north coast of KZN, giving rise in demand for working spaces.
The W17 working space is expected to open in the first quarter of 2024.