Residential and commercial property management company City Property Administration says its upgrade of retailer Shoprite’s building in the Tshwane central business district indicates renewed confidence in the inner cities of Gauteng.

Following City Property’s development of One on Mutual and Sharon’s Place, and the establishment of the arts, culture and entertainment precinct 012Central, the company says the announcement of the Shoprite building upgrade project will improve the urban fabric of the city.

“Our newest project bucks the trend of Tshwane being a staid grey and government city. In fact, it underlines the young vibrant face of the capital that thrives with its residents,” City Property MD Jeffrey Wapnick says.

The cost of the project will be about R60-million and will include a revamped and redesigned Shoprite store.

The first phase of the upgrade will include a new Shoprite Liquor store, as well as new retail shops. The largest visual element will be the triple volume entrance with escalator access from Helen Joseph street. The project will also involve renovations to the Helen Joseph street facade, with new modern shopfronts.

The pedestrian access from Madiba street at the back entrance will be upgraded to provide a landscaped walkway for access to the Shoprite store. The shopfronts will flow from the Adidas shop on the corner of Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph streets and will continue to trade while the upgrade is under way.

Part of the renovation of Phase 1 is to prepare space for additional retailers, which will form part of the second phase of the development. The second phase will cater for the retail tenants on the first floor and the remainder of the basement space.

The completion of the capital city’s latest building upgrade is aimed for mid-December.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on creating spaces that will allow our tenants to flourish [and] to add value to the area surrounding them,” Wapnick says.

“The management team of Shoprite has been . . . very accommodating and now that the pandemic is behind us, we are thrilled to announce the news of the project,” he adds.

Shoprite will continue to trade during the duration of the upgrade. Although there will be some inconvenience, City Property says there will be no interruption for residential tenants in the vicinity or people working in the inner city who will still be able to do their daily shopping there.