This expansion comes in the form of the opening of the fully-let second phase next month and the announcement that leasing is now underway on phase three.

The R100 million expansion will see an additional 7,000sqm come on-stream on 25 November 2010 when Phase Two is completed and opens to shoppers. The leasing of Highveld Mall Phase Three - with another 15,000sqm – is already well advanced.

“Phase Two is already fully let, bringing the entire shopping centre to 100 percent occupancy,” says Patrick Flanagan, of developers and co-owners Flanagan & Gerard.

The high level of tenant demand signals just how successfully the mall performs.

Research shows that since 2007, Highveld Mall has enjoyed consistent retail trade growth of over 15% per year, along with a consistent increase in the number of shoppers visiting the mall. It is no surprise then that Pick n Pay has exercised its option to expand its existing store, which has seen another 1,000sqm added to its offering.

Some of the tenants opening their doors at Highveld Mall for the first time include @Home, a 1,600sqm Dis-Chem, Baby Boom, Standard Bank, Cell C, Coricraft and Trappers Trading, Pep Home, Sheet Street and Bargain Books. “The new expansion will broaden retail choice for consumers, and deepen the tenant mix at the mall,” says Flanagan.

Highveld Mall, owned by Resilient Property Income Fund Limited, Flanagan & Gerard Property, and Mogwele Trading 278 (Pty) Limited, was a high-performer within a year of opening its doors in 2007, with turnover then of more than R45 million a month. Today this figure is in excess of R70 million.

“Demand and growth have just continued to rise,” he adds.

Thanks to its superb location at the corner of the N4 highway and Mandela Drive, Highveld Mall’s success is that it offers much more than simply a shopping centre.

“It has been a major catalyst in the evolution of a high-demand shopping and entertainment node in eMalahleni,” he says, pointing to a mix of uses that includes The Ridge Casino Entertainment Resort, an Easy Stay hotel, and a new Builders Warehouse as well as the commercial and residential Corridor Hill is located directly across from the mall.