CONSTRUCTION will begin in Rosebank, Gauteng, early next week on a R7m, two-floor curio market, which - home to some 65 traders - will boast the "widest range of curios representative of the entire African continent".
The first floor will feature African curios, in shops leased by curio traders, and the second floor will be dedicated to lifestyle retailers and traditional African restaurants.
According to the chairman of the Rosebank Management District (RMD), Dave Green, the project will be completed by October.
"We are intending to specifically target international tourists and to this end, the project has met with an overwhelmingly positive response from all concerned," he told Travel Now.
A part of Cradock Avenue in front of The Mall of Rosebank, purchased from the council by the mall owners, has been identified for the development and will be closed off from March 31.
Once completed, all shopping centres in the area will be linked by a piazza-style pedestrian area.
Green assures that no parking bays will be lost and that access from the parking bays will be possible.
"A tourist bus lane in Bath Avenue will also be constructed, providing easy access for tour groups".
He says the design contract has been assigned to Kate Otten, one of South Africa's leading ethnic interior designers, who will give the market a contemporary, international appeal, with a traditionally African feel and a uniform appearance.
Existing traders in the area have been identified for the market, although they will receive intensive retail training during the period of construction.
"The market will still maintain that bazaar atmosphere, although it will just be slightly formalised and better controlled to give shoppers a wider range of upmarket, unique gifts in a safe setting".
(Adele Mackenzie)
