GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Nestled in the heart of the city at the Gaborone Central Business District (CBD), the long-awaited The Fields Mall is officially in business. Sitting on a 27 000 square metres of land, the new mall accommodates 70 stores with most tenants aiming to open their doors to customers before the end of August.
“Stories from directors who grew up in the area told us that the place used to be a cotton field, hence the name The Fields,” the Project Manager, Hennie Steyn from MDSA Project and Construction Management, told Time Out.
“Construction started in September 2020 just after the outbreak of COVID-19 and it was a challenge. We have 650 open space parking that is available above ground and the basement has 600 parking spots. This is a paid parking system where you will have (only) an hour of free parking.”
New Additions
Steyn said there is Botswana’s first Dickeys Barbecue Pit franchise, which is an American-style steakhouse and an up-market restaurant called G Spot. Also for the first time in Botswana is Doppio Zero, which is a breakfast restaurant that serves brilliant pizzas. It overlooks a water feature and a kiddies area in the Piazza.
Other new additions to the Gaborone CBD are the Apple store (iStore), Pep Home, West Pack Lifestyle and John Craig.
Design concept
At first glance, the interior of the mall spots open celestials with big windows that allow natural light in. The architect, Jasmina Telic of Paledi Co-Arc, says the idea of having natural light illuminating the space is to save on electrical costs and incorporate the environment in the design concept.
She told Time Out: “We originally had the idea of building a double-storey mall but had to abandon it because tenants didn’t want to occupy stores located upstairs. The reasoning was that most were still not used to the idea of going up to access more stores. Luckily, we had enough space to spread out the buildings and can still expand the mall upwards for future developments.”
Traffic and congestion management
Project Manager Steyn said they have an agreement with the Gaborone City Council to create a taxi drop-off point at the back of the mall that leads into a passage that will take shoppers inside the mall.
With the anticipated foot traffic from the Gaborone Bus and Taxi Terminus nearby, there is a pedestrian tunnel under Mandela Drive. Construction of a pedestrian canopy over the tunnel is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of August. There is also a separate pedestrian access walkway to cross the mall parking area into the CBD.
“Creating more exiting roads from the CBD is another issue that has been raised and there hasn’t been any feedback,” Steyn said. “The request is about helping with congestion and traffic management.”
Fun facts
-The Fields is built on 27 000 square metres of land
-Construction commenced in September 2020
-It is the sixth mega mall in Gaborone after Game City, Riverwalk, Railpark, Airport Junction and Sarona.
-Houses 70 shops including iStore, Pep Home and West Pack Lifestyle.