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Canal Walk is a shopping mall located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is part of Century City, a suburb and 250 hectare mixed-use development,<ref name= "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday"></ref> built in 1997, that sits alongside the N1 freeway.<ref name= "Canal Walk Visitor Information Centre"></ref><ref name= "Contact Us">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The largest mall in the city<ref name= "About Canal Walk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the third largest in Africa,<ref name= "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction"></ref> Canal Walk is built in what the developers call "Cape Venetian architecture". The mall features over 400 stores,<ref name= "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction"></ref> over 8,000 parking bays,<ref name= "About and Centre Management"></ref> a wide variety of restaurants, and an arcade.<ref name= "Canal Walk Mall Map"></ref>
HistoryEdit
Canal Walk was built in October 2000, at an estimated cost of around R1.3 billion. At the time of completion, the mall spanned around 125,000 square meters, and hosted 9,600 square meters of office space.<ref name= "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The mall is owned by investment companies Hyprop (80%) and Ellerine Bros Ltd (20%).<ref name= "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday"></ref><ref name= "Hyprop’s Canal Walk raked in R1bn turnover in December">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= "One of Joburg’s biggest shopping malls is in trouble">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, it was Hyprop's strongest performer, generating R1 billion in the month of December.<ref name= "Hyprop’s Canal Walk raked in R1bn turnover in December"></ref>
In 2024, Canal Walk partnered with over 28 local artists and designers, and 200 students, to host an immersive art installation. This included the Blue Butterfly, which was created using over 200,000 beads, by learners from Marconi Bean Primary School, under the guidance of Art Afrique's master beading artist, Thokozani Twala. The installation also featured fynbos artwork, to honor Cape Town's natural beauty.<ref name= "Canal Walk Shopping Centre reveals new art installation for Spring & Summer 2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FeaturesEdit
Canal Walk is classed as a super-regional mall, and is the only one of that size in the Western Cape province.<ref name= "Hyprop reports double-digit distributable income growth and payout ratio increase"></ref> It is open 7 days a week from 9AM to 9PM - longer hours than the norm for malls in Cape Town.<ref name= "Contact Us"></ref><ref name= "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday"></ref>
Canal Walk is home to over 400 stores, spread across almost 150,000 square meters, as well as 12 entrances, and over 8,000 parking bays.<ref name= "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= "About Canal Walk"></ref><ref name= "About and Centre Management"></ref>
Categories of retail and services offered at Canal Walk include books, cards, gifts, banking, cellular services, health, hair, beauty, decor, homeware, clothing, jewelry, fitness, toys, technology, food and beverage (including tea and coffee), pets, luggage, and automobiles.<ref name= "Shops">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Anchor tenants include Woolworths, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Game, H&M, @home, Honda, Cape Union Mart, and Edgars.<ref name= "Canal Walk Mall Map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The mall hosts the Wonderland play centre, with an arcade, a bowling alley, and pool tables.<ref name= "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction"></ref>
Canal Walk also features a 2,600 square meter indoor adventure park, called Freedom Adventure Park, which offers guests access to zip lines, netball, basketball, slides, and a toddler play area.<ref name= "Freedom Adventure Park">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Concepts and flagshipsEdit
Canal Walk has hosted the launch of numerous stores, including the first JD Sports store in South Africa, the first stand-alone Silki store in the country, and the maiden flagship store for Shift Espresso Bar.<ref name= "Hyprop reports double-digit distributable income growth and payout ratio increase">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name= "Favourable trade metrics boost Hyprop’s interim distributable income growth by 14.5%">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
SustainabilityEdit
Canal Walk makes use of numerous environmentally sustainable construction elements, including energy-efficient electronic ballasts, green roofing, efficient insulation, and a food waste yard for composting. The building's management has implemented a strategy to reduce water consumption, with a focus on customer and store usage. Efforts to reduce energy consumption are also undertaken.<ref name= "Corporate Responsibility">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
For making Cape Town greener and more environmentally sustainable, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) awarded Canal Walk a 5-Star Existing Building Performance v1 green rating in 2020.<ref name= "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday"></ref> The mall received the award again in 2024.<ref name= "Corporate Responsibility"></ref>
Canal Walk is involved with numerous community upliftment organizations, such as Ikamva Labantu, Stop Hunger Now, and LEAP Science & Maths Schools. The mall also assists schools and charity organizations in the Western Cape with their fundraising efforts continuously, and encourages its patrons to participate as well.<ref name= "Corporate Responsibility"></ref>
GalleryEdit
- Canal-Walk-Glass-Ceiling.jpg
Atrium-like glass ceilings provide natural light to the double-story mall.
- Canal-Walk-Food-Court.jpg
A massive food court with multi-media entertainment.
External linksEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist Template:Cape Town Template:Shopping centres in South Africa