The highly anticipated Mall of Thembisa will be opening this Friday, 20 November 2020. The 44 800 sqm mall is ready to open doors to the public. The Mall of Thembisa is situated in Olifantsfontein Road and is said to have cost R726 million to construct.
Over 70% of employees on site during construction were residents of Tembisa. This translated into the creation of approximately 2 500 local jobs during construction. It is anticipated that almost 80% of the staff complement of the mall will be local residents once the Mall opens for trade. Residents applied for jobs on the empowerploy.co.za website and an emphasis was made to hire local residents.
One of the most empowering initiatives of the Mall is the creation of a farming co-op on site. The site is adjacent to a flood plain of the Kaalspruit where local farmers have been farming the land for years. McCormick Property Development (MPD), the Mall landlord, has formed a cooperative called Siyakhula with these farmers, creating market gardens growing spinach, beetroot, assorted herbs and more on site.
The Mall of Thembisa’s main restaurant anchor, Imbizo Shisanyama, allows the farmers to grow and supply the vegetables that the restaurant will serve. In addition, the farmers will occupy a ‘farmers-market’ stall at the taxi rank to sell directly to commuters and customers.
On the retail front, MPD has created the Kasi-CoLAB which is a township designers emporium located in one of the most prime retail spaces in the mall, at the main entrance. The CoLAB hosts ten local designers and entrepreneurs amongst them Uhuru, 4IR Ini, Pozie and Ska’ Wara.
MPD has committed to supporting these local creatives in their first step to getting onto the main stage by showcasing their brands. With so much creativity in the townships but little financial assistance, these entrepreneurs need support to excel. Hopefully the brands will end up taking up a store in the mall or branching out into other malls, online and beyond.
ON TRANSPORT
They’re two taxi associations in the greater Tembisa area– the Tembisa Local Taxi Association (TELTA) on the older, eastern side (closer to Kempton Park) and the Ivory Park Taxi Association (IPTA) on the newer, western side of Tembisa (closer towards Midrand). The association have been at loggerheads for 27 years. Historically, passengers who arrived at the boundary of one of the associations’ routes would have to step off the taxi and pay a second fare to the next taxi association or travel on foot to cover the rest of the trip.
Through negotiations and mediation, the association representatives sat down and committed to various route sharing agreements allowing Tembisa residents to travel to the mall on a single fare, irrespective of their point of departure. KAE residents will be able to travel to the Mall on a single trip. The sign to summon a taxi to the Mall is the hand gesture, number 8.
The Mall boasts four grocery anchors – Super Spar, Shoprite, Roots Butchery and Boxer and all the major banks have branches and ATMs. In addition to the four anchor supermarkets and Dischem, the Mall of Thembisa will house a local optometrist, Clicks and a Lenmed Clinic. The Mall will also have a gym.
The food court will include Chicken Licken, KFC, Debonaire’s Pizza and other eateries. Imbizo Shisanyama will be the restaurant anchor.
We can’t wait for the grand opening and will be definitely be there! Thembisa is a Nguni word for hope and promise. The Mall of Thembisa promises hope for Tembisans.
Source: Jason McCormick, Managing Director of MPD interview with Property Wheel.