#Q Mall - 33 000m2 - Queenstown

The Eris Property Group will be developing a R500 million regional shopping mall on the N6 Cathcart Road opposite the rapidly growing area of Komani Park in Queenstown, an economic hub in the Eastern Cape.
Shareholders in Eris include Rand Merchant Bank, Royal Bafokeng Holdings and the Tiso Group, which recently announced its merger with Kagiso Holdings.

Phase one of the Q Mall will extend to 33 000 m2 with more than 100 shops, including the latest style Checkers supermarket, as well as Edgars, Jet, and CTM. Phase two will have a further 8 000 m2 of retail and entertainment facilities in future.

Rob Terry, development manager of the project, says the site’s location between the venerable but overcrowded CBD and the major township of Ezebeleni means that it is ideally situated for all of Queenstown’s shoppers. Its frontage onto the newly upgraded N6 arterial route allows easy access for those using Queenstown as a base from surrounding areas and towns such as Cathcart, Dordrecht and numerous others.

“No longer will people have to drive for two hours to East London for their major shopping. It will all be right here on their doorstep,” he says.
The developers are finalising their arrangements with a host of other well-known retailers, says Ivan Pachonick, retail consulting director for JHI property services group, which is managing the leasing for the project.

“The outstanding response from retailers reaffirms the strong demand and that the timing is right for a modern, regional shopping facility in Queenstown,” he says.

The new shopping centre is also immediately opposite the proposed new 15 000 m2 government and municipal office precinct at Komani Park, which was recently put out to tender together with proposals for 20ha of new affordable housing in the vicinity.

Billy Forssman of Eris Property Group says this is a clear indication of the importance of this area of Queenstown as the growth node for the town.
“A total of over R1 billion will be spent here over the next two years and we look forward to further developments to ease the pressure on the CBD. Queenstown’s centre is still largely as it was laid out in the 1800s but times have changed.

There are major difficulties associated with trying to access services as well as shopping there, from parking issues to congested and broken pavements and long walks between the different shops. This new node will bring together all the goods, services and government departments in a single, clean, convenient and easily accessible location,” says Forssman.

Due to open for Christmas 2012, Q Mall is being designed by leading architects Boogertman and Partners in association with ADA Architects. Boogertman were the architects for the iconic new ‘Calabash’ design Johannesburg World Cup Stadium and recently completed the new Melrose Arch retail development in Johannesburg, as well as designing uShaka Marine World in Durban and several retail complexes around South Africa.

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