Companies

New road carved to ease Garden City shopping mall access

ACTIS

Actis Capital CEO Michael Turner. PHOTO | FILE

City Hall has carved an access road off Thika Road to ease traffic flow into the upcoming Garden City Mall, sparing shoppers the nightmare of using the perennially jammed Kasarani underpass.

Actis Capital, the developer of the mall, says the first phase of the shopping complex is set to open in April.

Recently built shopping complexes such as Thika Road Mall (TRM) and Ridge Mall on Limuru Road have caused massive traffic jams, causing a re-think of road designs leading to the premises.

“One of the issues which we anticipate may possibly have an impact on timing is setting up efficient road access to and from Garden City; we are working with City Council to expedite the necessary infrastructure,” Actis managing director Michael Turner told the Business Daily.

The London-based private equity firm says shoppers will access Garden City Mall through the overpass at the Garden Estate interchange, while those coming from Thika will use exit number seven then branch left into the new road which cuts through Willmary Estate adjacent to the mall.

Garden City’s opening was initially scheduled for last month, but the developers say construction of structures is complete and finishing is underway.

“With a project of this scale and complexity there is always the possibility for changes to the schedule,” said Mr Turner.

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The decision to use the Garden Estate overpass spares shoppers heading to Garden City Mall the hassle of using the Kasarani underpass which is always jammed with customers heading or exiting the nearby TRM.

The Thika Road Mall had to re-design a section of the road after completion, but the area remains perennially jammed due to heavy traffic flow into neighbouring estates.

Game, a subsidiary of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed retailer Massmart, has booked space at Garden City as the anchor tenant.

The first phase of the Sh22.7 billion ($250) high-end mall features 33,000 square metres of retail space, 76 two and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes and a three-acre central park.

“Structural work on Garden City Mall was completed in September 2014 and as the mall has continued to take shape. The roads and the paving, as well as the ceilings, shop fronts, tiling and doors are all progressing well,” Actis said in a statement.

Others who have booked space at the mall are South African fashion brands Edgars and Foschini, fast food chains KFC, Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery.

Garden City is billed to be Kenya’s biggest mixed use development featuring 50,000 square metres of retail space, 420 apartments and town houses, 20,000 square metres of office space, 120-key business hotel and a three-acre park open to host outdoor events.