The owners of Port Elizabeth's Greenacres Shopping Centre, ACUCAP, have announced plans to redevelop and upgrade the centre to the tune of R282 million.
The first phase of the extension is to begin work next month on a newly designed food court.
The other two phases will see the mall undergo entrance re-alignments, and an expansion and upgrade, running through to April 2016.
Speaking at the media launch on Wednesday, ACUCAP COO Jonathan Rens said they believe Greenacres has a loyal customer base and is more convenient than the Baywest Mall currently being built off access to the N2.
Rens says Greenacres sits at the heart of the current traffic flow and daily comute within the city and from a convenience perspective they have a competitive edge over Baywest Mall.
He added that the company recognises the mall needs a complete new upgrade
"In terms of the look and feel Baywest is going to be a very good product, we think its going to be world class, certainly will be a very good statement. Our response to that is to recognise Greenacres is an old mall, it's tired, it needs an upgrade but a complete upgrade. The plan is to do complete new malls, new ceilings, new lights and new floors. The expansion does impact the Bridge in a sense that by us adding new malls to sort out the overcrowding problem we are going to increase accessibility to The Bridge." says Rens.
