Staff Reporter.
Bridge City shopping centre in KwaMashu, Durban, has been fully restored after being destroyed by looters during the 2021 July unrest.
The centre is officially opening its doors on Thursday just in time for the Easter weekend.
The iconic 40 000m2 regional shopping centre, which is managed by Capital Land Asset Management (“Capital Land”), originally opened in 2009 in the centre of Bridge City, a mixed-use precinct which connects the communities of Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu. It was developed with the objective of stimulating economic growth and empowering these communities through improved access to public transport, employment opportunities, services, and retail offerings.
The damage sustained to Bridge City shopping centre during the riots necessitated the full closure and internal reconstruction of the shopping centre.
Bridge City Shopping Centre is easily accessible via nine well-positioned entrances which accommodate shoppers accessing the centre on foot from the surrounding community, via public transport and in private vehicles. The main entrance to the shopping centre from the train station is located on the ground level and the newly established taxi rank provides commuters with convenient access directly into the shopping centre. The expansive roof top provides ample parking for customers travelling via private vehicles.
Smital Rambhai, the Fund Manager of Comprop said: “The July 2021 riots will forever remain in our memories as one of the most tragic events in South African history, with approximately 1 563 jobs lost at Bridge City Shopping Centre. We estimate that these jobs would have affected at least 10 000 lives in the communities of Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu, who are supported by the income earned by staff working at the centre. Both Futuregrowth and Capital Land set an immediate strategy after the riots had settled, to embark on restoring the economic support that Bridge City Shopping Centre provides these communities. One of the key priorities was to restore access to essential goods and services, which we did with Superspar trading as early as June 2022, while the rest of the centre was being reconstructed. As President Nelson Mandela once said: ‘the greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall’ and we have risen with great glory today with the opening of Bridge City Shopping Centre.”
Comprop is a flagship fund amongst Futuregrowth Asset Management’s suite of developmental investments and has been existence for more than 25 years. All Comprop’s shopping centres are located in prime locations within townships and rural areas around the country. The Comprop portfolio comprises 23 shopping centres, with a total gross lettable area of more than 392 000m2, valued in excess of R6.6 billion.
Compiled by Lehlohonolo Lehana.