Central Square at Menlyn Maine announces opening
Menlyn Maine is a groundbreaking 315,000sqm decentralised green city mega-development, and this 65,000sqm R1.8bn mixed-use space will become its vibrant hub when it opens on 21 September.
It will offer a 30,000sqm boutique shopping mall with a piazza as its focal point, top-end restaurants, health and beauty and pampering experiences, an apartment and conferencing hotel, an office tower and a lush public park complemented by the first and only Virgin Classic gym and a Bounce trampoline park.
Commenting on the new centre, Henk Boogertman, architectural director of Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings, says: “Central Square is in line with the Menlyn Maine vision to create a modern, New Urban city precinct, where everything is right on one’s doorstep and people can live full, balanced, responsible and exciting lives in a well-secured environment. Central Square is a magnificent shopping and leisure destination that introduces an unparalleled experience. Central Square’s strength is its exceptional retail mix, convenience, design, location, and the many reasons to visit the centre on a daily basis. It is an entirely new and unique experience that forms the city centre of Menlyn Maine.
“Central Square adds a new dimension to the diversity of retail sector in Pretoria, and complements the existing shopping offerings in and around the Menlyn node with a distinctive and unique experience.”
It’s co-owned by joint investors Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) represented by the PIC. Its tenant mix has been carefully crafted by Flanagan & Gerard Property Investment & Development, which has earned a sterling reputation for leasing high-end niche malls, such as Sandton’s Morningside Shopping Centre and Nicolway Bryanston.
A singular shopping experience with leisure and entertainment offerings
The square features over 50 hand-picked retailers, restaurants, entertainment experiences and services within an exceptional boutique-styled architectural development that benefits from all amenities that any visitor may need.
Designed to meet the day-to-day requirements of its immediate high-end shoppers, Central Square will provide a singular shopping experience with leisure and entertainment offerings. It boasts three supermarkets - Spar, Pick n Pay, and Woolworths - and a Clicks pharmacy as anchor tenants.
Chris Teague, leasing director at Flanagan & Gerard, says: “Spar will provide owner-operated flair with design elements never before seen in this country. Pick n Pay’s exceptional brand and prices in a new generation store will be compelling. Plus, shoppers can enjoy the unique ranges that can only be found at a Woolworths supermarket. Clicks will offer a full complement in its new Central Square store. Together, this creates a powerful proposition for daily convenience shopping.”
Joining these big names in retail are over 25 concepts focused on health, wellness, sports, outdoors and beauty, creating a never-before-seen mega-hub of health and well-being in Pretoria.
Highlights include Pretoria’s first Virgin Classic gym, which will open in a state-of-the-art club, and Pretoria’s first and only Discovery store, where Discovery members can do Vitality assessments and health checks as well as get expert assistance for new and existing members. Alternative health and wellness retailer Wellness Warehouse will open its first ever store in Pretoria as well as its health bar café. Plus, the Bounce trampoline park will make its Pretoria debut.
Central Square also offers a dozen restaurants, cafés and entertainment options including Pretoria’s first Starbucks. It introduces Old Town Italy, a family-owned and run Italian restaurant deli, and South Africa’s first Ribs and Burgers, which puts a whole new slant on high-quality casual dining. It also offers a bespoke mix of appealing fashion, accessories, services, speciality stores and more.
“Central Square’s carefully considered retail mix creates an unusual high-end quality niche mall. This uniquely designed boutique styled mall is ideal for convenient daily shopping yet, at the same time, creates a luxury experience that will be a major attraction. It elevates retail development in South Africa,” says Teague.
Like great city centre spaces the world over, Central Square has its own piazza where people can mingle and meet. The Central Square piazza is surrounded by eateries set around big trees, water features, and public artworks. A public park runs through the entire city precinct and alongside Central Square which offers a new and distinctive dimension to the precinct - a space for people to relax and refresh!
While Central Square at Menlyn Maine is set to delight visitors, there is much more to this groundbreaking development than first meets the eye.
SA’s first green, mixed-use city precinct
Menlyn Maine is South Africa’s first green, mixed-use city precinct. As a partner of the Clinton Climate Initiative, Menlyn Maine is one of 16 green cities being built in various countries, and the only one in Africa. In line with Menlyn Maine’s exceptional sustainability benchmarks, all buildings in the precinct are set to be rated 4 Green Star SA or higher by the Green Building Council of South Africa. It is also targeting a LEED ND certification for the precinct.
The construction of Central Square began just over two and a half years ago, in November 2013 and in that time it has created thousands of construction jobs. When it opens, hundreds more permanent and part-time jobs will also be created within the centre.
Centrally located
Central Square is located minutes from the N1 motorway’s Atterbury and Garsfontein interchanges. It will have six access points from the surrounding road network as Menlyn Maine is bordered by Atterbury Road, Garsfontein Road, January Masilela Road and Lois Avenue.
Its superb highway access also supports easy links across Gauteng, including to OR Tambo International Airport, and beyond. Plus, Central Square is well served by public transport. There’s a Gautrain Bus stop directly outside Central Square and the city’s new Bus Rapid Transport system will include a stop only 400 metres away, on Atterbury Road, which is being upgraded to provide access to Menlyn Maine and to facilitate the new BRT station.
Additionally, the centre enjoys street and direct links to the spectacular Sun International Time Square casino, 5-star hotel and 8,000-seater multi-purpose arena development planned for Menlyn Maine. Both the underground parkades of Central Square and Time Square are linked to facilitate easy parking and access between the two complimentary facilities.
This is supported by plenty of parking too. Central Square offers around 1,800 basement parking bays and 300 open parking bays, enhancing its ease of access, convenience and pedestrian linkages into the surrounding precinct.
Boogertman says: “Our vision was to develop the most exciting retail and entertainment experience of the highest possible standard at the heart of our new city centre, one that offers an outstanding boutique-styled shopping and leisure experience, which will not only be a great work of architecture, but also be a real asset to its owners, retailers and customers. We are excited to share the exceptional Central Square experience with everyone when it opens on 21 September.”
