AN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY AT WONDERPARK

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ARTICLE ABOUT THE WONDERPARK SHOPPING CENTRE EXTENSION

PHASE 1 CONSTRUCTION IS WELL UNDERWAY!

At the moment the construction team is busy with the following exciting construction projects;

• Building of the elevator shafts.
• The pillars for the high feature roof for the new food court are being casted.
• The pillars for the basement parking is being casted
• The slabs for the food court and the new Woolworths area are being casted.
• The walls inside the existing centre are being built where the existing tenants have moved out.
• Cell C can look forward to their new shop as this is almost finished.
• The next step in this phase will be the adding of the slabs in the basement parking and the building of the structure for the roof.
  

 

2.  Movers & Shakers inside the centre:

Mattress Zone at the Game entrance is still
operational, but will close at the end of April. They will only be trading from their shop at the FNB entrance.

The existing Vodacom4U store will be closing at the end of April and will trade from their temporary store next to Verimark.

Bears have moved to their temporary shop at the old Light Spot premises.

Incredible Connection has started trading at their brand new shop at the old Rage premises.

The toilets at Entrance 6 have been closed and the brand new toilets will open in 6 weeks’ time. The entrance of the toilets will move to the passageway next to Gospel Direct.

The FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank ATM’s situated at Entrance 6 have been removed. The
temporarily ATM’s for Nedbank has been placed at the various entrances, but are not yet operational.

3. Parking:

• One of the centre’s main focuses is redirecting our shoppers to alternative parking areas at the Standard Bank, ABSA and Telkom Entrances.
  
• The parking opposite the outdoor kids play area will be closed by the end of March.
  
•   The basement parking is still scheduled to open in October 2013 and will include 700 new parking bays.
  

4. Road upgrades:

The first of the road upgrades and changes have started with the implementation of the 3 way stop on the corner of Doreg and Diffenbachia roads.

EMIRA PLANS MAJOR UPGRADE TO WONDERPARK SHOPPING CENTRE

According to Strategic Real Estate Managers (Strem), which is the fund manager of Emira Property Fund, the company is planning a major refurbishment of its Wonderpark shopping centre in Pretoria. At a cost of around R513 million, the centre will see its gross leasable area rise from 63 000 m² to a significant 90 000 m².

The additional space will be able to expand the operations of Game, Woolworths, Jet and Edgars and to allow for new tenants such as Checkers, Dischem, Stuttafords, HiFi Corp, PQ Clothing, Cotton On and The Hub.

WORK BEGINS ON EXTENSION OF WONDERPARK SHOPPING CENTRE

Floor Plan: Green=Existing, Blue=Extension

Construction at Wonderpark Shopping Centre’s expansion has finally started! This extension, which is being driven by demand from our loyal shoppers for more choice and large national tenants wanting representation in the centre, is expected to be completed in November 2014.

The bulk of the expansion will be at entrance six and seven, therefore some of our parking bays will be closed at these entrances. 

Some of the major changes to the centre includes the relocating and expansions of some of our existing tenants such as Woolworths,  Edgars, Truworths and Game.

Another major focus of the development is to increase the fashion offering in the centre. It will include more than 20 high fashion brands half of the new specialty stores will feature brands that have never been available in the North of Pretoria.

New major retailers will include Dischem, Hi-Fi Corporation and Checkers.

With a wider variety of shops, Wonderpark Shopping Centre, will offer exciting, exclusive and quality merchandise within modern and spacious surroundings, in a safe, relaxed family environment. 

Artist's Impression of new section interior

R513m EXTENSION FOR WONDERPARK SHOPPING CENTRE

Artists Impression of Entrance 7

Emira Property Fund is extending its flagship Wonderpark Shopping Centre north-west of Pretoria by some 27 000 square metres, which will increase the GLA to 90 000 square metres.

Emira Property Fund is extending its flagship Wonderpark Shopping Centre north-west of Pretoria by some 27 000 square metres which will increase the GLA to 90 000 square metres.

The cost of the extensions is estimated at R513 million.

Work on the improvements will start this month and the complete, extended centre should open for business in May 2015.

Emira chief executive officer James Templeton says Wonderpark Shopping Centre is Emira’s biggest asset - both by value (R652 million) and gross lettable area.“It’s a highly trafficked shopping centre in a prime location with a good tenant mix, including some top national chains such as Game, Woolworths, Truworths, Jet and Edgars.”

Templeton explains that the mall serves a massive and growing catchment area which includes the suburbs of Karenpark, Akasia, Rosslyn, The Orchards, Amandasig, Chantelle and Pretoria North as well as the adjacent township areas, which include Soshanguve.

It currently enjoys a 41 percent market share among the region’s shoppers.

“It’s important that we keep upgrading our shopping facilities by adding to our mix of tenants – especially in fashion, electronics, health and beauty, and groceries - in order to satisfy shopper needs and retain our dominant market position.”

The extensions will make provision for larger trading areas for all of the current national tenants and will introduce into the mix new national tenants in the form of Checkers, Dischem, Stuttafords, Hi-Fi Corporation, PQ Clothing, Cotton On and The Hub.

Management puts the annual foot traffic at the centre at 9.3 million shoppers, while shopping centre research group, Urban Studies, estimates that Wonderpark currently enjoys a 41 percent market share.

They believe that, once completed, the centre has the potential to increase its market share of spending in the region to 45 percent, generating annual turnover of around R2.1billion.

The number of households served by the centre in the primary catchment area is 290 000 and 909 000 in the adjacent township areas.

The number of households in the surrounding residential areas is growing rapidly, assisted by the increasing number of jobs generated by government in Pretoria.

Approximately 50 percent of the centre’s trade is generated from the suburbs and 35 percent from the township dwellers.

Wonderpark has undergone several extensions over the years. The site was first developed in 1985 as a 36 000 square metre shopping centre.

The first extension took place in 1996 to accommodate Spur and Virgin Active.

The latest extensions took place in 2005 when Ster-Kinekor, Game and a new food court were added. That was followed shortly thereafter by the addition of a new Caltex filling station and a Builders’ Express outlet to reach its current size of 63 000 square metres.

Emira acquired the centre in 2006 from MPI Properties for R406.4 million and the adjoining Builders’ Express outlet for an additional R26.5 million.

The combined value of the centre has since grown to R652 million.

The new extensions will be constructed on a phased basis. The first phase includes a parking deck, new basement, new mall and new outlets for Woolworths, Edgars, Game, Dischem and Truworths.

Once Game is relocated to its new premises, work will begin on the new Checkers and adjacent line shops. Finally, there will be upgrades to the old Edgars, Woolworths and Truworths premises and a revamp of the Pick n Pay Hyper premises, which will include a new mall leading to Pick n Pay.

“The proposed capital expenditure of R513 million is expected to yield an incremental 8.4 percent to Emira participatory interest holders.

“It will also substantially improve the tenant mix, secured on long-term leases, and ensure the centre’s continued dominance in it catchment area,” he adds.