SANDTON CITY 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Recently celebrating 50 years , Sandton City has positioned itself as a leading retail and mixed-use destination in South Africa .
From a world-class super regional shopping destination , to prime-grade office buildings , world-class hotels and vibrant social offerings , Sandton City has inspired urban creativity and community and sets the benchmark for what the greater Sandton area has become .
Background Sandton City Shopping Centre first opened its doors on 12 September 1973 . At the time , Sandton was primarily a semi-rural area , far removed from the historical Johannesburg CBD . Announced with much fanfare in 1969 , the development in Sandton was the first of its kind in South Africa , commencing a move away from the traditional development around central business districts .
Owned today by Liberty Group Limited , Liberty Two Degrees Limited and Pareto Limited , Sandton City was originally developed by Rapp and Maister . Michael Rapp and Hilliard and Eli Liebowitz had originally planned to develop homes and a small shopping centre on the 32 hectares of land but their larger vision was the catalyst not just for Sandton City Shopping
Centre but for the greater Sandton area that we find today . Despite established retail in the Johannesburg CBD as well as Hyde Park and Rosebank , Michael Rapp had visited a number of modern , covered shopping malls in France and Canada and saw the potential for developing something similar in Sandton .
Many considered the new development doomed to fail but the office tower was quickly fully tenanted and the shopping centre experienced early success due to the fact that the developers had persuaded many top retailers to take a chance on the new centre from the outset , thus providing a strong retail mix with established brands .
Sandton City ’ s Architects MDS Architecture is in a unique position when it comes to the continuity of retail design in South Africa . Being involved with Sandton City since its inception in the 1970 ’ s , the firm has developed a considerable depth of knowledge regarding the centre and its ongoing evolution over the last fifty years . Tia Kanakakis , a partner at MDS , joined the firm in 1990 and has spent more than thirty years working on Sandton
Going through the plans on site prior to construction Sandton City photographed soon after completion in 1973
54 Sandton City 50th