THE retail property sector could play a “critical role” in encouraging inclusive commercial development, says property economist Francois Viruly.
There has been much debate about inclusive residential developments, where a certain percentage of a development was set aside for affordable housing.
Viruly said the same kind of thinking could be applied to commercial developments. He said SA’s malls had been “ahead of the game” in terms of providing a place for the small trader.
“The question that arises is how does your street trader move up the commercial ladder in SA and how can we assure that those from the bottom of the ladder are not excluded from trading areas in SA. ” Viruly said there were examples where inclusive developments worked “from a commercial perspective”. The Mall of Rosebank, which created space for an African crafts market, was a good example of that. The mall also provided a rooftop market every Sunday, which gave smaller traders an opportunity to showcase their wares.
“Many shopping centres do it on Sundays with rooftop markets. There have been shopping centres that have initiated projects which allow small traders to operate out of kiosks, which also permits them in time to move into a more formal store in the shopping centre.”