Construction - Retail Section The initial construction to the retail portions during this period , was limited to structural underpinning and strengthening of the lower ground floor section , to take the new floor to be built over it . Extensions were also carried out to the new Woolworths area .
Some temporary malls had to be created to allow for limited construction within the centre and to connect some of the existing malls . These malls housed some of the tenants , who had to be relocated on a temporary basis , while the new construction of certain portions of the mall was underway . Throughout the construction period great emphasis was placed on providing glazed sections where the public could witness the construction progress - this became the start of ‘ Shoppertainment ’!
During the first half of 1999 , the reconstruction of the old Fountain Court , reconfiguration of several stores and existing malls was undertaken . Sections of the new upper first floor slab were also erected . During the latter half of the year the northern side came under construction . A section of the upper first link mall was completed in time for the opening of the first half of the Nu Metro cinemas during December .
During 2000 the redevelopment of the existing centre and the completion of the three main themed areas , the Celestial Hall , the Aviary Hall and Cavendish Court were undertaken in a phased programme to reach completion by the end of the year . The imported fabric for the tensile roof was erected during September and October of 2000 , in time for normal trading in November 2000 .
The first half of 2001 saw the last finishing touches being seen to and some tenants completing their shopfitting .
Tenants & Tenant Design An extremely high standard of retail design and merchandising was a pre-requisite for all tenants . Old Mutual Properties appointed an Interior Designer to assist in drawing up an approved list of shop designers from which tenants could select an appropriate choice for their type of business .
A shopfront design criteria document was prepared by the concept designers to assist in developing appropriate shopfronts for the various zones . All shops were handed over as ‘ creative space ’ - no screed , no shopfront , ceiling and 3 walls - for the tenant to exploit the creative shell . In large portions of the project the floor to ceiling heights were determined in such a way that tenants could utilise the vertical volume by introducing mezzanine floors within the creative space . Tenant designs were scrutinised at concept
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