be planted in these areas . Later in this managed programme , other species established by natural processes , until eventually the “ high forest ” species come through creating a coastal forest with its attendant insect , bird and animal life .
At the heart of Moreland Developments groundbreaking 143ha Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre project lies the Gateway Theatre of Shopping , R1,4bn shopping and retail complex developed over 130,000m 2 by Old Mutual Properties .
The newly completed Moreland Millennium bridge , describes a graceful arc over the Mount Edgecombe Highway , runs alongside the Gateway development and links the N2 , Umhlanga Rocks Drive and the coastal motorway , thereby giving the New Town Centre a landmark entrance .
The development of the area is set to become , over the next 20 years , greater Durban ’ s premier decentralised node .
It is estimated that the New Town Centre will provide 24,000 new formal jobs , 5,000 of them at Gateway , which also provided at least 3,000 jobs during construction and thousands more indirectly .
PROPERTY DEVELOPERS REPORT Old Mutual Properties announced , in February 1999 , a major boost for the KwaZulu-Natal economy with the go-ahead for its groundbreaking R1,4b Gateway Theatre of Shopping project at Umhlanga , on the Kwazulu Natal north coast . The complex represented an exciting spring-board into the future of retail in SA .
The scheme is about innovative architectural designs , retailers with fresh new ways to present their products and a tenant mix that will attract the widest audience possible . What KwaZulu- Natal now has is a world class development , unique in that it forms the nucleus of the new Umhlanga town centre , with a wide range of retail shops and entertainment venues , including well known national chains , international brands , local specialists , 22 cinemas , the world ’ s highest indoor climbing rock , a skate park , a standing wave for surfers , and a large number of theme and family restaurants , catering for what is currently an under-shopped region .
Significantly , with the arrival of Gateway , greater Durban , the metropole in South Africa ’ s most populated province , still only has two regional malls - in Gateway and The Pavilion Shopping Centre - while greater Cape Town , with a smaller urban economy , has five .
Gateway has been recognised as the driving force behind the vigorous northward growth of the Durban conurbation . It sits astride a road network that makes it easily accessible to visitors from around KZN . The almost 3 million people that live within a half hour drive of Gateway are already making it a vibrant and dominant retail destination .
The development forms part of a 160ha site in the new Umhlanga Town Centre ; it comprises 28ha of prime retail with indoor and outdoor leisure facilities . The remainder of the site is allocated to parking , a road network and landscaping . Actual retail and entertainment space covers more than 120,000m 2 , making Gateway the single biggest retail and entertainment environment in Southern Africa and dwarfing the other regional mall , the Pavilion .
Gateway incorporates a combination of temperature controlled enclosed malls - for those sultry , humid days - and vibrant high street retail via a live edge that interacts with the boulevard .
Gateway brings the value of recent and proposed investments in retail properties by the Old Mutual group to more than R6b , headlined by the proposed R4bn Zonk ’ Izizwe ( All Nations ) family entertainment and shopping resort north of Johannesburg , and the recent redevelopment of Menlyn Park .
Gateway 69