Blue Route Mall

Blue Route Mall
One of the entrances to Blue Route, on the south side of the mall, with surface lot parking in the foreground
Alternative names	Blue Route
General information
Type	Shopping mall
Architectural style	Contemporary
Location	Tokai Road, Tokai, Cape Town, South Africa [1]
Coordinates	34°03′48″S18°27′15″E / 34.0634668°S 18.4540966°E / -34.0634668; 18.4540966
Current tenants	Woolworths, Checkers, Edgars, Clicks, and House & Home, among others [2]
Opening	1970s;54 years ago (1970s) [3]
Renovated	2012;13 years ago (2012)
Renovation cost	R862 million [4]
Client	Fountainhead Property Trust (original owners)
Owner	Redefine Properties [5]
Landlord	Redefine Properties [5] Broll Properties (Center manager)
Height
Height	3 stories (including 1 for underground parking)
Roof	Opposed slopes [6]
Technical details
Floor count	3
Floor area	56,891 m2 (612,370 sq ft)
Renovating team
Architect(s)	Peerutin Karol (Louis Karol) [7]
Renovating firm	Grinaker-LTA
Structural engineer	Aurecon Group (Civil and structural)
Other designers	BFH de Jager (project managers) [8] CNdV Africa (Environmental planners) EQF (tenant coordinators) [9]
Quantity surveyor	MLC
Other information
Number of stores	137 [3]
Parking	3,000 bays (including 1,300 undercover)
Website
https://blueroutemall.co.za

Blue Route Mall (often referred to as simply Blue Route) is a shopping mall situated in the predominantly residential neighborhood of Tokai, in the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town, South Africa. ^[3]

Blue Route is one of Cape Town's oldest malls, having opened in the 1970s. It was completely rebuilt in 2012, to create a more modern, functional mall, based on community needs. ^[4]

The mall features 137 stores, including a variety of restaurants and take-out chains, as well as both covered and uncovered parking totaling 3,000 bays. It is easily accessed by the nearby M3 freeway, and M4 road. ^[3]

History

Blue Route Mall was opened in the 1970s, and has served as a major retail destination in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town ever since. The original mall featured 103 tenants.

The mall gets its name from the Malabari word for "peacock", because of the bird's blue tail. ^[10]

In 2001, the mall's then-owner, Fountainhead Property Trust, decided that it was no longer serving the needs of its community, and began looking for a solution to this, which ended up being a full rebuild. ^[11]

Rebuild

The building was somewhat run down in the 2010s, and was rebuilt in 2012. The new mall was designed by architecture firm Peerutin Karol. Louis Karol of Peerutin Karol is the architect who designed the Victoria Wharf retail center at the V&A Waterfront; one of Cape Town's largest malls. The rebuild was project managed by BFH de Jager, and CNdV Africa served as the environmental planners. Landscaping was done by ARG Landscape Architects, and construction by Grinaker-LTA. Tenant coordinators EQF managed existing retailers. ^{[12] [9] [8]}

A full communications plan was developed, in order to keep stakeholders, including the community, abreast of developments and progress. ^[11]

Demolition of the original mall, starting with the upper and lower parking decks, began in April 2010, and the new mall opened in March 2012. The estimated cost of the redevelopment was R862 million. ^[4]

The redevelopment was carried out in numerous phases. After the first phase (demolition of the existing mall), the second phase was dedicated to bulk excavations, including stripping the back section of the building to prepare it for demolition, and piling the open parking area. ^[4]

The third phase commenced the construction of the new mall, by building the ground floor structure, completed in early 2011. The remainder of the structure, including the first floor, ring beams, and plant room, was completed around mid-2011. ^[4]

The fourth and final phase was dedicated to adding finishes throughout the mall. Following this, the mall was completed in March 2012, with its parking finished in September 2012. ^[4]

The new mall considered traffic in the surrounding area. The footprint of the new mall was designed so as not to negatively affect the flow of traffic to roads surrounding Blue Route. The introduction of a new slip road off Tokai Road was anticipated to reduce the traffic pressure on the existing Vans Road intersection. ^[4]

Trade at Blue Route continued during the 30-month redevelopment period, with existing tenants temporarily rehoused on site during construction. The new mall added approximately 8,000 square meters of retail space, however the footprint of the mall actually decreased. The number of stores increased from 103 to 137. As parking was an issue with the original mall, the redesign included 3,000 bays. ^[4]

The redesigned mall features a dedicated food court, built on the north-west elevation. It comprises 2 retail floors of about 29,000 square meters each, as well as double-volume walkways, large sculptural skylights, an extensive balcony, and restaurant and public areas with panoramic views. The outside parking area features pedestrian walkways indigenous trees, dedicated taxi bays, and bench seating. Blue Route Mall now operates a CCTV camera system and 24-hour security guards. ^[4]

Features

Blue Route Mall is a medium-sized shopping mall, and a significant one amongst those in the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town, in terms of the number and breadth of stores it offers residents.

The center is home to 137 stores, covering around 57,000 square meters, and features 3,000 bays of parking - some as part of a surface lot, and some (1,300) covered and behind paid access. It also has its own generator farm, to provide full, continuous power in the event of an area outage. ^{[3] [5] [13]}

Categories of retail and services offered at Blue Route include pet supplies, groceries, homeware, clothing and sportswear, outdoor gear, printing, jewelry, furniture, banking, cellular, and baking. ^{[2] [13]}

Anchor tenants at the mall include Woolworths (with a 6,000 square meter store), Checkers, Clicks, Zone Fitness, House & Home, Mr Price, Edgars (with a 4,000 square meter store), Dischem, and Toys R Us. ^[2]

References

1. "SA-Venues - About Blue Route Mall". SA-Venues. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
2. "Blue Route Mall - Mall Map". Blue Route Mall. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
3. "Blue Route Mall - About Us". Blue Route Mall. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
4. "Tokai's Blue Route Mall revamp on track". property24. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
5. "Blue Route Mall - Services and Facilities". Blue Route Mall. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
6. "Cape Town - Blue Route Mall". KFN Travel Guide. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
7. "Blue Route Mall, Tokai". RobertSilke&partners. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
8. "Development team for Blue Route Mall revamp named". Bizcommunity.com. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
9. "EQF - Blue Route Mall". EQF. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
10. "South African History Online - Tokai, Cape Town". South African History Online. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
11. "A make-over for the grand lady of Tokai". media update. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
12. "Blue Route". Peerutin Karol. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
13. "Lekkeslaap - Blue Route Mall". Lekkeslaap. Retrieved 31 May 2025.