Renovations at Cresta shopping centre

It's no secret that Cresta Shopping Centre has been undergoing renovations. NMT was granted exclusive access to bring our readers up to speed on the progress.

The 37-year-old centre last received a facelift 20 years ago.

The last additions that were made were done a decade ago. The R300-million renovation and facelift could therefore not have come sooner, shoppers said in response to

research undertaken by the centre's holding company.

“The project effectively has two aims; creating a new mall of line shops on the lower level across Weltevreden Rd, and the complete cosmetic refurbishment of the centre,” Cresta's Rob Thomas explained.

Construction on what is referred to as the bridge link on the lower level over Weltevreden Road is scheduled to be completed by April next year.

The last concrete slab for the bridge was laid recently. Brickwork has now begun, as well as work on interior fixtures and fittings.

“The original one-level bridge over Weltevreden Road was traditionally the only mall linking the massive east and west wings of the centre, and always proved somewhat of a bottleneck for the big volumes of traffic that Cresta carries,” Thomas said.

This double-volume bridge is one of the first in South Africa, and required close

co-operation with the Johannesburg Roads Agency to facilitate the lowering of Weltevreden Road and the expansion of Cresta's feeder

road network to cope with extra traffic

volumes.

Other major structural work includes the creation of a new entrance (Entrance 10) next to Dominique's to create better flow between the malls and the underutilised northern undercover parking.

The lifts in the vicinity of the new entrance

will also be upgraded, and work on this is expected to be completed by the end of November.

Cresta is also undergoing a complete cosmetic refurbishment. More than half a billion feet have graced the centre's walkways and shops since the last .

“The centre is also to be fenced off in its entirety, around the perimeter of the property, with booms in place to increase security and render the entire shopping precinct safer,” Thomas added.

Plans are afoot for the creation of a taxi recess along Beyers Naudé Drive to ease traffic congestion and get the taxis off the main road. This will include walkways towards the centre and covering at the taxi area in case of inclement weather.

Complete cosmetic refurbishment will include new bulkheads and fixtures, skylights, new imported tiles from Italy, new mood lighting, new toilets, and a big focus on more digital signage internally and externally.

As part of the centre's initiative to go green, the new lighting will be energy efficient, to tie in with the City of Johannesburg's mandate to get its major landmarks to reduce their carbon footprint.

“In all, these significant changes at Cresta will maintain the centre's status as one of Johannesburg's most loved shopping spaces, and will ensure that Cresta remains focused on serving its market into the future,” Cresta's marketing manager Philisiwe Mtsali said upbeat, after the tour.