Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg, North West, is undergoing a R33 million refurbishment, which will enhance its shopping experience, ensure it is well-positioned for a bright future, add new services in the mall and create welcome opportunities in the local economy.
The mall’s thoughtful approach to ensuring its refurbishment results in the best benefit to its community means it has also established a charity platform to donate the fixtures it is replacing, such as hand basins, toilets, urinals and about 7 000 square metres of tiles, to charity and community organisations that can use them.The 50 000 square metre regional shopping centre with a 10 000 square metre Value Mart is owned and managed by Growthpoint Properties. Its decision to invest in the future of the mall is also an investment in the future of this region, which has been hard hit by the recent mining strikes.
Marlene Bouwer, Centre Manager of Waterfall Mall, says the refurbishment will boost the shopping experience with sparkling new tiles in the malls and passages, fresh new bathrooms and a contemporary new design for their bulkheads.
She says it will also help bring a welcome boost to their local economy. Wherever possible, she says they are using local contractors which helps create jobs in the area.
The mall’s thoughtful approach to ensuring its refurbishment results in the best benefit to its community means it has also established a charity platform to donate the fixtures it is replacing, such as hand basins, toilets, urinals and about 7 000 square metres of tiles, to charity and community organisations that can use them.
“We’re thrilled to be undertaking this refurbishment for our shoppers, who will soon be able to enjoy their favourite shopping in a refreshed, modernised setting. We are enhancing our shopping experience and we’re excited for the future of the mall. We have great confidence in the future of Rustenburg and its surrounds, and our investment in the refurbishment of Waterfall Mall shows our commitment to the community.”
Thanks to this refurbishment, Waterfall Mall shoppers will also enjoy a new information kiosk, which will be installed near the Cape Town Fish Market. In addition to receiving information about the mall, the new kiosk will also provide visitors with information about local tourism and accommodation within the greater North West region, supporting the travel and tourism industry in the area. To help shoppers easily find the stores and services inside the mall, it will provide three new digital touchscreens with information and directions.
The refurbishment work is already underway and scheduled to be completed by December this year. Most of the work is taking place at night, to minimise inconvenience to shoppers and retailers, and the centre’s trading will continue as normal.
At the same time as undertaking this exciting refurbishment of its interior, Waterfall Mall is also refreshing its brand and will introduce a new logo and eye-catching artwork.
Introducing welcome advantages to the local economy, Waterfall Mall first opened some 16 years ago in September 1998. Since then, it has gained strong support from its community becoming the shopping destination of choice, with between 550 000 and 650 000 shoppers visiting the mall each month.
Driving the mall’s popularity is its passion to ensure that shoppers in this region can enjoy a world-class shopping experience with all the latest brands, trends and innovations in 135 shops, anchored by Woolworths, Game, Edgars, Pick n Pay and Ster Kinekor. At the same time, it provides unique shopping tailored to local consumers’ needs.
The mall is located at the heart of a region that is strongly connected to its natural resources. As part of this community, Waterfall Mall recently installed solar panels on its roof to take advantage of Rustenburg’s sunny climate and ensure it minimises its own dependence on the area’s energy resources.
The services of the mall’s original architect, VDO Consulting Architects, have been retained for the refurbishment and Mont Blanc Construction have been appointed as the contractors for the project.
Bouwer says they believe this project will be great for the mall and the community.
