R400m Eyethu Orange Farm Mall opens its doors

R400m Eyethu Orange Farm Mall opens its doors The eagerly-awaited 27,000sqm, R400 million regional Eyethu Orange Farm Mall opens, bringing to fruition an unprecedented socially innovative retail development and investment. Eyethu Orange Farm Mall, located between Joburg and Vereeniging, is 10% owned by its community, through the Orange Farm Community Trust, and is set to transform Orange Farm into a booming central business district. It is boosting the local economy in a variety of ways, from creating jobs and easy access to quality shopping, to housing the local community radio station and a day care centre. Together with the community's 10% stake, facilitated by the National Empowerment Fund, Eyethu Orange Farm Mall co-owners are developers Flanagan & Gerard Investments and Stretford Land Developments and JSE-listed REIT Dipula Income Fund, each of which hold 30% of the mall's ownership. Eyethu Orange Farm Mall marks the creation of a regional retail mall which is connected with different modes of public transport. This first-rate mall, with all the advantages of a leading regional shopping centre, offers a broad mix of retailers to satisfy local customers and the millions of rail commuters using its adjacent Stretford Station each year, as well as those using its integrated regional taxi rank. This positions it at the best and most convenient point for this community to do its shopping. Paul Gerard, Managing Director of Flanagan & Gerard Investments, says: "Eyethu Orange Farm Mall is no ordinary mall. It is a shopping centre more deeply rooted in its community than any other in South Africa, and each tenant here is not only committed to the mall, but is also demonstrating its confidence in this community. We are thrilled by the positive response to the project by both national and local retailers. Eyethu Orange Farm Mall creates a wide variety of shopping choice that is well-match to its shopper market." Izak Petersen, CEO of Dipula Income Fund, reports: "We are thrilled to be invested in this quality asset, which epitomises both innovation and inspiration. Dipula's investment is playing a key role in bringing much-needed access to top-quality retail for this community. It is meaningful responsible investment that will boost the local economy and benefit our shareholders. It also meets Dipula's strategy to invest in retail assets in underserviced areas." David Lieberman of Stretford Land Developments, comments: "The idea for Eyethu Orange Farm Mall was first born with my partner Vusi Tshabalala, two decades ago. He believes that where a community has no mineral wealth, its only wealth is its buying power. He saw a future where the community of Orange Farm could benefit from its own spending power by developing a shopping mall in which the com