Almost a year before Waterfall Estate’s sprawling Mall of Africa, in Midrand, is due to open its doors to the public, property developer Atterbury reports that development of the flagship development remains firmly on track, with some 83% of gross lettable area already tenanted.

The so-called “super-regional” shopping centre would, once completed, offer 130 000 m² of retail space, becoming the largest retail development on the continent to have been developed in a single phase and occupying the “heart” of the mixed-use Waterfall City development.

“The Mall of Africa has already become a landmark and point of reference in the greater Johannesburg area and, although we’re a year from opening, we already have critical mass and world-class infrastructure in place.

“We aim not to be a mall in Africa, but the mall in Africa,” Atterbury development head Cobus van Heerden enthused during a tour of the site on Wednesday.

MDS Architects partner Tia Kanakakis, who designed the mall, outlined that prospective tenants had been required to submit shopfront design proposals for approval by Atterbury to ensure that the developer’s vision of the mall was carried throughout each of the retail outlets.

“We’re being strict about what is being submitted, as the designs need to speak to the Mall of Africa…we are stringent and and you’ll be left out of if you don’t elevate your designs,” she told prospective and confirmed tenants.

Confirmed tenants included local and international brands including Woolworths, Edgars, Game, H&M and Checkers Hyper, most of which had tweaked their traditional shopfront design to complement the overall design of the mall.

“We can let the remainder of the retail area today if we wanted to, but we are being picky,” added Atterbury’s Mareli Vorster.

The mall’s top level would boast a 4 500 m² undulating steel and glass roof with curved bulkheads that allowed daylight entry, as well as a “luxury mall” section offering high-end brands and a champagne bar.

It would also offer executive services, such as valet parking, hands-free shopping and free parking.

At the centre of the mall, the interior would open up onto an exterior restaurant area and the “green lung” of the Waterfall City development – a large park that extended towards the bottom of the mixed-use development.

“In other words, the Mall of Africa won't be an introverted design along its entire extent,” Kanakakis explained.

Van Heerden told Engineering News Online during a tour of the site that Atterbury had made efforts to include green building materials and features, but disclosed that the building had not been rated by the Green Building Council of South Africa.

“We have several green or energy-efficiency elements, such as the use of grey water and natural light, as well as rainwater harvesting, but we didn’t go for a [GBCSA] rating. We do have the option of [retrofitting] the mall in the future to achieve this and have strengthened the roof so that we can [eventually] install solar panels,” he noted.

The mall would also be serviced by the Gautrain bus and and talks were currently under way to possibly extend the city’s bus rapid transit system to link the development to other parts of the city region.

It also offered 6 500 parking bays for customers with their own transport.