A new 28,000 square metre regional mall has opened its doors in Ermelo, serving the Gert Sibande District in Mpumalanga.
The Merino Mall development, owned by Moolman Group and Abland, opened its doors last week, having been under construction for 15 months and in development for even longer.
At 28,600 square metres, the mall marks the first shopping centre of its substantial size to be developed within a 100-kilometre radius in the area.
Merino Mall’s retail mix comprises 90 stores with anchors Checkers, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Clicks, as well as the first Crazy Plastics and Dis-Chem in the area.
Other retail firsts for Ermelo include Cape Union Mart, PNA, @Home, Queenspark, Old Khaki, Crazy Pets and Refinery.
The shopping centre also has a fashion node, banking facilities and restaurants.
The mall was designed by MDS Architecture, with the exterior inspired by the original showground barn structures, with the barn shape becoming a key design feature. The existing barn structure was retained and incorporated into the new building.
The mall also has its own solar photovoltaic (PV) plant that produces green energy, allowing the mall to trade during load shedding.
According to the developers, the property even has a sewer treatment plant that will recycle grey water back into the building to achieve water savings.
Other features include 1,743 parking bays in an on-grade, safe and secure parking area, with reserved parking for shoppers with special needs close to entrances. It also includes a taxi rank, and shoppers will also be able to connect to the fast fibre Wi-Fi network.
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