ERMELO – There is excitement in the air as the construction of the new Merino Mall is set to begin on July 1.

If all goes to plan, the mall is set to open in October 2022.

The mall’s name is derived from the Merino sheep breed, which, according to the developers, was chosen to pay tribute to the site’s historical background.

The mall will be constructed on what used to be the Ermelo Showgrounds on the corner of the N2 and N11.

The property developers, the Moolman Group and Abland, have united their efforts to construct the 28 000m² shopping centre.

The development will also have a positive influence on local economic development, as developers have affirmed the use of local workforce throughout the construction phases of the mall.

Job creation stands at the forefront of this development, with numerous local residents and businesses as beneficiaries.

According to Ms Cornel Papenfus, the group marketing manager, prospective tenants have not only shown interest, but also support towards the project.

“There are already several tenants on board,” Ms Papenfus said.

Preliminarily arrangements have been made that indicated that about 90 stores will fill out the mall.

Some of the stores listed are:

• Checkers
• Pick n Pay
• Woolworths
• Clicks
• Crazy Plastics
• Dis-Chem
• Cape Union Mart
• Old Khaki
• Cross Trainer
• Queenspark
• Primark and Refinery
• Truworths
• Identity
• Mr Price
• Jet
• Ackermans
• Foschini
• Sportscene
• Total Sport
• Mr Price Sport
• Pep
• Exact
• Markham
• Milady’s
• Tekkie Town
• Studio 88
• The Fix
• @home
• Sheet Street
• Crazy Store
• Mr Price Home
• Pep Home
• numerous food outlets and banking facilities.

“Merino Mall is set to enhance the current retail offering in Ermelo and will bring convenience, value and pride to the town’s visitors, residents and it’s surrounding communities,” Ms Papenfus concluded.