40% takeup and negotiation on 37 000 m²

Sable Square the new concept retail development bordering Century City is proving to be a multi-cultural meeting place for traders drawn by the diversity of trading styles - anything from a covered bazaar to a village square, says Jonty de la Porte, who heads the marketing team.

The R120 million development by the Spearhead Property Group and a consortium of Cape Town investors is the answer to an increasing need to provide an alternative to the mall retail concept.  'And it has been received with huge enthusiasm,' says De La Porte who reports within weeks, a takeup or negotiation of more than 40% of the 37 000 square metres of space with traders across the cultural spectrum. 

'Its going to offer Cape Town shoppers new concept stores never seen here before, and for smaller traders it's an opportunity to take tiny spaces and offer unusual goods.  It reduces the sometimes daunting hurdle of setting up business in a mall, where the costs often overtake the possibility of profitable trading in the short term,' said De La Porte. 

Sable Square has also attracted the traditional retail chains who are exploring the new concept for their stores. The mix has broadened to include a gym and boutique plant nursery.

Part of the concept includes a large congregation area in the form of a village square with 'high street' extensions similar in context to London's Soho, or comparable areas in Europe and elsewhere.   As part
of the innovation, architects Bentel Associates International have also provided space and designed a covered bazaar or market place associated with smaller traders offering valuable and beautiful artefacts such as jewellery and ornaments.

'South Africa's true cultural fusion was always going to take place on neutral territory - areas where there was no political baggage - and Sable Square and its immediate surroundings is proving to be that area,' says Anthony Wolpert, Development Manager of Spearhead Property Group.