Fortress REIT says the first phase of its White
River Crossing development, a retail and leisure centre near the Kruger
National Park, is nearing completion and is on course for its scheduled opening
on 22 August.
“We started our earthworks in the middle of last
year and construction has really gained momentum which puts us on course for a
successful opening towards the end of August,” says Izak Kriel, an asset
manager at Fortress.
“This centre is aimed at both local residents from
all walks of life as well as the numerous tourists who visit the area as well
as the nearby Kruger National Park.”
The first phase of the 10,300-m2 development located at the
intersection of the R40 that leads to Hazyview and the R537 to Sabie will have
a C-shape layout with ample parking facilities and a restaurant section
clustered around an open air piazza with several water features.
White River Crossing is 51% owned by Fortress with the remaining 49% stake
owned by three local families. The construction of the centre was contracted to
iKotwe Construction, a local company that was established in 1992. Fortress has
capacity to add a further 5,000 m2 to 7,000 m2 of
retail space in the second phase of the development should the demand for
additional space materialise from a suitable anchor tenant.
“For the moment we are concentrating on the first phase but if we sign a sizeable anchor tenant that requires big box space, we could move quickly to accommodate them,” says Kriel. “We’re already in discussions with possible tenants and if we get them signed on as anchor tenants then that would trigger us to start developing further.”
The economy of White River, which is located just north of Mbombela in Mpumalanga, is based largely on tropical fruit and nut farming as well as tourism thanks to its proximity to the Kruger National Park. https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/757/189825.html
