Enhancing this well-established retail property asset, unlocking potential and extending its lifespan are all key objectives for Investec Property, the centre's owners and project developers.
The revamp of the 22-year-old Balfour Park Shopping Centre is one of a number of projects being undertaken in line with Investec Property's strategic approach to development, which delivers specialist projects to the market, creating competitive, quality developments.
Investec Property is a division of Investec Bank and has built strong portfolios within the specialist areas of investments, developments, property and land acquisitions. This team of highly skilled people operates across retail, office and industrial property sectors throughout South Africa and also in the United Kingdom.
In the case of Balfour Park, Ronnie Sevitz of Investec Property explained that refurbishing and reconfiguring the centre was embarked upon specifically to meet consumer and retailer demand, while extensive evaluation was also given to every aspect of delivery in the planning of the refurbishment. All elements, from the physical structure to shopper flows and from tenant mix to community positioning, were considered in the project's preparation.
The centre now offers some 36 400m² of retail variety, served by ample free secure parking, reflecting an excellent collection of anchor tenants, such as Woolworths, Mr Price, Edgars, Checkers, Truworths, Foschini, CNA, Clicks, Ackermans, Milady's and Markhams. This is matched with a number of small, unique boutiques and stores to refine and define the tenant mix.
Furthermore, Balfour Park Shopping Centre's banking hall now provides a financial services offering that includes all the country's major banks: Nedbank, Standard Bank, Absa and FNB; in addition to Capitec Bank, which also has premises at the centre.
To achieve its goals, Investec Property appointed architects Bentel Associates International to reshape and refresh Balfour Park Shopping Centre. Both internal and exterior areas have been revamped and rejuvenated with the introduction of contemporary stainless steel and glass, complemented by neutral tones.
The modernising of the centre also allowed for improved energy efficiency and services, elevating the effectiveness, quality and economies of the centre's daily operations.
The increased use of natural light in the centre is complemented by a lighting system that allows 30% energy saving with 100% more light in the parking area, using light sensor units. Standby generators with 100% redundancy ensure that the centre functions fully during a power outage. Sticking with the environmental ethos, the Caterpillar generators feature ACERT, which burns fuel at lower temperatures, resulting in fewer emissions.
The renovation of Balfour Park Shopping Centre has also allowed the owners to increase security. New state-of-the-art security cameras, which overlook the entire centre and the parking area, have been installed. Balfour Park has also taken up arms against crime by combining resources with the local security scheme to ensure that both Balfour Park Shopping Centre and its surrounding area are as crime free as possible.
According to Sevitz, even more exciting plans are afoot for this popular centre, with possibilities including an expanded restaurant offering, unique live entertainment and the centre's retailers are joining the project by upgrading their own stores. Checkers will be injecting approximately R20 million into its store to ensure that its offering best serves the needs of the surrounding community.
