The Westown Square shopping centre is being developed in Shongweni, South Africa, by Fundamentum Property, an asset management, property development and retail leasing company.
The shopping mall is designed to provide a different retail experience with ample space for meeting and mingling among the community. It will offer a diverse range of retail, entertainment, recreation and leisure activities.
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Expected to be completed in early 2025, Westown Square is being developed with an estimated investment of R1.4bn ($74m). Absa Investment Bank is the primary funder for the project.
Location
Westown Square is located in Shongweni along the N3 highway between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in South Africa.
It is part of the 100-hectare (ha) Westown mixed-use development, which forms the first phase of the larger 2,000ha Shongweni urban development project. eThekwini Municipality is undertaking the Shongweni project to promote economic development in the outer west region of the KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province.
The Westown mixed-use development comprises several interconnected precincts that will be developed over a period of five to ten years. It will comprise residential and commercial activities, a logistics precinct, the West Private Hospital and other lifestyle and recreational activities within an urban environment.
Westown Square shopping centre details
The Westown Square shopping centre will span 50,000m² (538,195ft²) and feature a mix of national and local retailers, covering categories such as fashion, health and beauty, food, entertainment and lifestyle.
The retail centre features a high street design that seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor spaces. It will be an open, permeable and accessible space with big gardens and wide walkways that encourage social interaction and provide connection to the shopping, dining and recreational amenities.
The shopping centre will feature a combination of timber and steel structures along with unique landscaping details that depict the natural beauty of Shongweni’s green belt. It will feature densely planted shopping streets, parking lots and walkways covered with vines and pergolas, and large entrance trees.
A key feature of the shopping centre will be The Barn on The Square, a central retail square displaying local brands and products, particularly those from the province. It will provide a local shopping retail experience and feature a permanent market-like retail space for local artisanal traders.
The Barn will comprise two main levels: a lower market level and an upper level featuring high-quality restaurants and bars, some of which will be locally owned and operated.
Construction details
Construction of the shopping centre is being undertaken along with the upgrade of Kassier Rd, which will support the Westown mixed-use development.
A fleet of construction machines including a payloader, an impact roller, a static roller, a milling machine, two tractor loader backhoes, two sheepsfoot rollers, two mobile cranes, two continuous flight auger (CFA) piling rigs, two graders, five dozers, seven excavators, nine tippers and ten articulated dump trucks are being used at the construction site.
Dynamic compaction construction technique was used to compact the soil on the shopping centre site in preparation for the bulk earthworks. A three-sided impact roller was also used to compact the soil.
A CFA piling rig was used to drill the piled foundations.
The second level concrete slab of the retail centre is being constructed using the coffer slab construction technique to help carry the load of the concrete slab and add strength.
The first two concrete slabs requiring 519m³ and 600m³ of concrete respectively were poured in September 2023. Another concrete pour of 730m³ was completed in November 2023.
Retail and entertainment offerings at Western Square
Shoprite and its group of brands will occupy 10,000m² of retail space in the shopping centre.
Checkers Hyper, part of Shoprite, will be one of the major anchor tenants occupying approximately 8,500m². It will offer a wide range of groceries and general merchandise.
Some other Shoprite brands including Checker Liquor, Petshop Science, Little Me, Checkers Outdoor and Uniq Clothing will occupy the remaining space.
Pick n Pay, a South African supermarket chain that offers a variety of groceries and household products, will be another tenant at Westown Square.
Edgars, a South African clothing brand owned by Retailability, will launch a new store at Westown Square.
The Mr Price Group, a popular South African retail brand known for its fashion and homeware offerings, will provide customers with access to affordable and stylish clothing and home goods.
Dischem Pharmacy and Clicks are among the retailers at the shopping centre that will offer health, beauty and pharmacy products.
The shopping centre also features an amphitheatre, children’s play areas and a maze.
Contractors involved
Westown Square is designed by a joint venture of architecture firms MDS Architecture and Boogertman + Partners. Uys & White are the landscape architects.
Stefanutti Stocks, a construction company, is the main contractor for the project, while L&S Engineers is the civil and structural engineer.
Orion Projects is the project manager and MLC, a quantity surveying and construction cost consulting services provider, is the quantity surveyor.
RWP Consulting Engineers is the electrical engineer, while Graeme Page Consulting Engineers is the mechanical engineer and Lotter Consulting is the fire engineer.
Vertex Engineering Consultants is providing wet services.
