The Namibia Economist

Big retail comes to Keetmans

Retail investment in Keetmanshoop is on the cusp of a major boost with a N$92 million shopping centre that should be trading by the end of next year.
Old Mutual said this week it has started with the development of a 11000 sqm shopping complex in the Karas capital which will accommodate 13 new retailers and two banks. This is the biggest retail and property investment in Keetmanshoop ever.
The development consists of a total of 11,000 m2 of space, of which 10,000 m2 is gross lettable  while the remaining 1000 m2 is common area. Old Mutual announced at the stakeholder launch that of the 10 000m2 gross lettable space, 8000 m2 occupancy has been secured whilst negotiations are at an advanced stage with other potential tenants to take up the remaining space.
At completion the complex will offer 95% retail space and 5% office space. Old Mutual will benefit from its own investment synergy by being the first company to occupy some of the offic space. The anchor tenant on the retail side is Shoprite.
Other retailers that have committed to the centre are Shoprite Liquor, OK Furnishers, Hungry Lion, Jet, Edgars Active, Legit, CNA, Foschini, Markham, Exact, Mr. Price, Style Clothing and Beaver Canoe. Two commercial banks, First National Bank and Standard Bank have also committed to installing ATMs at the centre. Old Mutual said the other two banks are also considering their options at this stage.
Old Mutual is in the process of selecting a main contractor and the site hand-over is planned for the beginning of August. Construction will commence immediately and the functional completion of the development is scheduled for September 2013. Shopfitting will be completed during October and trading should begin in November 2013, in time for the 2013 Christmas season.
Professional teams already contracted to work on the development include: Hugo Scheepers & Augustinho Ferreira Architects JV as Architects and Principal Agents; Windhoek Consulting Engineers as Project Engineers; Dawid Nel Quantity Surveyors as Quantity Surveyors; Stubenrauch Planning Consultants as Planning Consultants; and Old Mutual Properties as the overall Development Managers.
The centre will offer 222 parking bays catering to retail clients, office tenants and customers. Ample provision for growth is included in the plans. The new centre will be constructed to be scalable in future, based on anticipated economic growth in the south and demand for more retail and/or office space. Whilst the initial development will have 10,000 m2 of gross lettable space, Old Mutual has acquired a total of 58,000 m2 for future expansion.
Speaking at the launch, Johannes !Gawaxab, MD: Africa Operations, said ‘Not only will this development offer the biggest retail hub within the Karas Region, the reality that all tenants will be new to Keetmanshoop, offers the promise of job creation too.

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