Sandton City is a large

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

situated in

Sandton Sandton is an upscale commercial and residential district north of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the city came from the combination of two of its suburbs ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It was built and owned by property development company Rapp and Maister, in partnership with brothers Hilliard and Eli Leibowitz, and was later taken over by Liberty Life (now part of Liberty Holdings Limited). The centre opened to the public on 12 September 1973 and has a

gross leasable area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured as square feet or square metres) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the buil ...

of of retail space. The office space combined with the Sandton Sun Hotel increase the total area to . Together, Sandton City and the adjacent

Nelson Mandela Square Nelson Mandela Square is a shopping centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, that includes a large open area built to resemble a traditional European town square, and an office complex. The centre was formerly known as Sandton Square and ...

(formerly Sandton Square) form one of the largest retail complexes in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

with shops such as

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...

, Prada,

Patek Phillipe Patek Philippe SA is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer, located in the Canton of Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Established in 1839, it is named after two of its founders, Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe. Since 1932, the company has ...

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...

and other exclusive boutiques - sometimes referred to as "the richest square mile in

History

Sandton City was built as a twenty-one storey, concrete block shopping centre that opened in late 1973. It is an example of the

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

that was common in South Africa in the early 1970s. The architecture is also seen in the Golden Acre (Goue Akker), a similar shopping centre built in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

before the construction of Sandton City, the International Terminal at

OR Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second ...

, the

Carlton Centre The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located on Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At , it is the third tallest building in Africa after The Leonardo, also in Johannesburg, and the Iconic T ...

, new

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

(now University of Johannesburg), and the JG Strijdom (since renamed the

Hillbrow Tower The Hillbrow Tower (formerly JG Strijdom Tower) is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa. At , it has been the tallest structure and tower in Africa for 50 years, and it was also the tallest structure in t ...

) in Hillbrow, Central Johannesburg. Most of these buildings were conceived in the late 1960s.

1960s

In 1968, Rapp and Maister property developers purchased land consisting of 4 hectares opposite the future Sandton municipal site on the corner of 5th Street and Rivonia Road. Rapp and Maister proposed to build a large shopping mall with an office tower on their site on this highpoint in Sandton. Both the proposed new town location and the shopping centre was contested by many including the Johannesburg City Council and Sandown residents which saw the proposal brought before the Townships Board for a decision. Both municipal and Rapp and Maister's project for a R20 million, 20 storey office tower and 30,000m² retail space was approved. They also were allowed additional retail space up to 90,000 square metres, 60,000 square metres of office space and 20,000 square metres of space for other uses.

1970s

Sandton City opened in 1973 with 120 stores on two levels of 50,000 square metres, and added two additional levels of parking for 2,500 cars and outside parking with 25,000 square metres of office space. It was also the first of its kind in Johannesburg. Upon opening, the scale and depth of the centre revolutionized South African and

retail. The outer plaza to the east housed offices, branches of

Nedbank Nedbank Group is a financial services group in South Africa offering wholesale and retail banking services as well as insurance, asset management, and wealth management. Nedbank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nedbank Group. Nedbank's ...

and Barclays (later to become First National Bank), medical suites and a steak house. A bridge connected the outer plaza to what was then Sandton Library, a medical clinic and the Sandton Council building. In its early stages in the 1970s, the small lower floor housed a post office and a

Ster-Kinekor Ster-Kinekor is a South African-based cinema company, and the country's largest movie exhibitor. It represents 60-65% of the market, having 56 cinema complexes consisting of 400 screens and 64,000 seats; 154 of those screens being 3D cinemas. It ...

cinema complex that is still there today.

1980s

According to the Sandton City website, by 1983 there were 240 stores and 8000 parking bays while the five-star towers were launched, and 44000 square metres of space added. The 564 room Sandton Sun Hotel was built in 1984 as part of the complex.

1990s

During this time, Sandton City underwent major refurbishment of common areas. The area in front of the Sandton Library was developed into a new shopping centre, Sandton Square, connected by a sky-bridge. A pyramid-shaped roof was added in the 1990s and provides the distinguishing architectural feature of Sandton City.

2000s

In 2001, stores were increased to 295 while parking bays were boosted to 10,000. A new food court and giant video wall were also constructed. The Home Living retail level was developed in 2002, and the cinema complex received a refurbishment in the same year.

2010s

In 2013, the Twin Towers office section of Sandton City was completely re-clad with a contemporary glass shell (these are now called Atrium on 5th). In 2014, the office tower received a complete external revamp, with new cladding applied over the original concrete structure. A new wing was also added to the mall, joining the Edgars and Woolworths Courts. A major refurbishment of the entertainment areas and adjoining stores commenced in 2017 and will be completed in 2018.

2020s

On 26 March 2020, the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, forced Sandton City among other malls across Johannesburg, to shut the majority of its stores down during South Africa's lockdown. Supermarkets, pharmacies, and other essential stores such as banks and mobile operating stores were allowed to remain open during this phase. The stores reopened after the lockdown restrictions eased.

References

External links

*www.sandtoncity.co.za {{Shopping centres in South Africa Shopping centres in Johannesburg