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Johannesburg's unofficial motto is, "Go big or go home." Jo'burgers
just do things bigger, so it comes as no surprise that residents of Jozi
take an instant liking to Westgate, which is the metropolitan area's
third-largest centre after Sandton City and Eastgate. By far the largest
centre in the western and north-western quadrants of the City of Gold,
Westgate's vast size and spread of stores means that it plays host to
shoppers from all over the region.
Westgate in 1985, shortly after opening
The centre started life as a small 45,000mē regional centre with just five anchor stores: Checkers, Dion, Edgars, Woolworths and Ster Kinekor.
'I remember when we used to park on the bridge over Crouse Drive, and the centre used to end where Clicks now is,' says the centre's Istelle Hutchinson, co-owner of Altefyn.
The bridge is visible to the right of the photo. The grass beyond the bridge is now where the lower level and Checkers Hyper is situated.
The centre has more than doubled in size since it first opened." |
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Here are some interesting facts about
this big centre:
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Westgate opened its doors to the public on 25 September 1985 - the second "gate" in Jozi after Eastgate. It has been around for longer than some of its shoppers have been alive! |
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Westgate's Phase 2 expansion that created the bridge across Crouse Drive with the new shops on the other side of the road was opened in 1989. The centre's old entrance 5 used to end just on the other side of Altefyn - where Clicks is located. |
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Westgate is the largest shopping centre in South Africa west of Sandton City and north of Canal Walk in Cape Town (this makes sense, given that this area includes the vast arid area of the Northern Cape!). |
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Though it is a two-level centre, almost 80% of the shops are located on the upper level. |
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As a result of this, walking once through Westgate from entrance 2 (near Game) to entrance 6 (near Pick n Pay) will allow you to eat 1 finger of Kit Kat or have a mouthful of Coke without putting on any weight, as the distance covered is over half a kilometre - one of the longest malls in South Africa. |
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Westgate's simple design and layout means that it is easy to find what you're looking for - and get a good workout in the process. Unlike some of the other shopping centres, which are so confusing to navigate with their different levels, Westgate is a pleasure to find shops in. |
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Westgate is one of only 8 super regional shopping centres in SA - these are the largest centres in the country, limited to the SA's four biggest cities: Johannesburg (3 centres), Cape Town (1 centre), Durban (2 centres) and Pretoria (2 centres). |
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Westgate is the only shopping centre in the country that has both a Checkers Hyper and a Checkers store – in fact, Westgate is one of the few centres that has both Checkers and Pick n Pay represented, providing the shopper with the ultimate in comparative shopping convenience |
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Westgate shoppers clearly have a love affair with their cell phones – few centres in the country have practically every cell shop known to SA – a Virgin Mobile, 2 Pep Cell stores, 2 MTN stores, 2 Cell C stores, and no less than 3 Vodacom stores – making a whopping 10 stores in total – so if it's a cell phone you're after, by the time you leave Westgate you should have one! |
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| Construction Year |
1985 |
| Shopping Centre Classification |
Super Regional Centre |
| Gross Lettable Area (m²) |
109 000m² |
| Parking Bays |
4 403 (1029 paid, 3374 open) |
| No. Shops |
184 |
| No. Entrances |
6 |
| Ave Foot Count/month (million) |
1, 25 |
| Ave Foot Count/year (million) |
16 |
| Property Manager |
Motseng Property Services |
| Marketing Consultancy |
Primedia Lifestyle |
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Apologies as we are currently in our designing process and will not be sending our electronic newsletter until further notice.
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