TZANEEN – Groundwork has begun on a major expansion of the Tzaneen Lifestyle Centre, which will feature the first Checkers Hyper in Limpopo, according to reports.

The announcement came during a recent Local Economic Development meeting at the Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM).

GTM director of planning and economic development Benjamin Mathebula confirmed that all plans for the extension have been approved and that earthworks for the project are already underway.

The expansion will add more retail space, bringing the total gross leasable area to 33 666m². The new Checkers Hyper will incorporate the existing Checkers store, which occupies approximately 3 182m², and will extend into a large portion of the current parking area at the back of the mall. The expanded store will add around 3 990m², plus a storeroom.

In addition to Checkers Hyper, the expansion plans include a variety of new retail outlets such as @Home, Truworths, Identity, Woolworths Edit Store, Woolies Food, Total Sports, Pick n Pay Clothing, Coricraft, Aldo, Lovisa, Queenspark, Pet Science, and others, though some stores are still awaiting final confirmation.

Suzan Tempel, head of retail at Resilient Properties, confirmed in September that the centre expansion will take approximately 18 months to complete. She explained that the project is designed to meet the growing needs of the local community.

“Many people don’t realise that Tzaneen is a regional hub. At first glance, it may not seem sustainable, but the demand is strong,” Tempel said.

Mathebula told the Herald that the expansion demonstrates confidence in Tzaneen’s position as a major economic hub.

“This follows a recent award the municipality received from the South African Property Owners Association at Sun City. We are pro-development; just a few months ago, we became the first municipality in the province to host the largest Food Lovers Market, and now we are the first to have a Checkers Hyper. There’s no need for people to travel to Pretoria; they can now shop right here,” he said.