September 26, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
RESIDENTS of Alexandra, in the north of Johannesburg, will soon no longer have to trek long distances to do their shopping. The Alex Plaza shopping centre is undergoing refurbishments and extensions and construction of a new, multimillion-rand development in the township will begin in the near future.
Following hot on the heals of mall developments in another Johannesburg township, Soweto , the two centres, which are next to each other in the busy Pan African Triangle, will give Alex residents their own central business district and proper shopping facilities.
The busy Pan Africa Square will boast two multimillion-rand shopping centres
The projects will also add value to the reconstruction efforts of the Alexandra Renewal Project to change the physical, social and economic environment of Alexandra, a township long afflicted by squalor and poverty. Currently, Alex residents prefer to do their shopping at Balfour Park Shopping Centre or in Sandton and the Johannesburg central business district.
The first development is the extension of the R80-million Alex Plaza, which opened in October 2005. At 10 000m² of shopping space at present, the centre is fully let and Alex residents have supported it since it opened, says Grant Nordin, the director of New Africa Developments, the plaza's developers.
"The plaza is doing well and the response from Alexandra residents and retailers has been encouraging. The 11 000m² additions to the existing mall will connect the existing Alex Plaza to the old Alex Gate Shopping Centre to make one big shopping mall."
It is expected to open at the end April next year, Nordin explains. The additions will consist of two enclosures, the existing one anchored by retail group Shoprite and the new one anchored by supermarket group Spar. All the banks will be represented in the new development and Nordin says the architecture of the second phase is going to be "up-market".
"We want to capture and keep some of the memories of old Alex. When the centre is complete, one will be able to see the corrugated iron sheets that graced Alex's old houses incorporated in the design."
Although building of the second phase had started, construction was discontinued after squatters occupying half the development site refused to leave. The developers sought an eviction order in the Pretoria High Court and after a lengthy standoff the company reached an out of court settlement with the squatters.
"We bought land along London Road and donated it to the Alexandra Renewal Project to build houses for the evicted squatters. There are approximately 50 families, or 839 people, living illegally on the site and some of them have already been moved," Nordin explains.
Also on the cards is the construction of a R120 million shopping centre that will include a transport hub at the Pan Africa Triangle, one of Alex's busiest areas. Called the Alexandra Junction Shopping Centre, it will consist of retail shops, a post office, clinics and pharmacies.
The 12 000m² centre, a joint venture between the City of Johannesburg, Gauteng province and the private sector, will have a three-level holding facility for taxis and space for hawkers. The taxi rank will operate as a regional transport node.
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