The land is owned by the Richmond Park Communal Property Association (CPA) – a group of 401 families representing 5,300 people spanning five generations who were forcibly removed between 1972 and 1984. In 2014, the land transferred back to the CPA. The Richmond Park Community leased the land to the Richmond Park Development Company and has a shareholding in the development company.
Richmond Park is among the largest property developments in Cape Town with 300,000m2 of greenfield mixed-use development rights. Its major shareholders are Atterbury, Old Mutual Properties, the Richmond Park CPA as well as Qubic 3 Dimensional Property, Bethel Property and Atlantis. All of Richmond Park’s shareholders attended the launch event, and were joined by members of the Richmond community. Atterbury is rolling out the multi-billion-rand Richmond Park development on behalf of the shareholders.
Said Atterbury’s Western Cape head of operations, Gerrit van den Berg, “Everyone involved in this project has gone above and beyond to get Richmond Corner ready for its shoppers and community. The opening of any shopping centre takes meticulous planning and heaps of hard work. Achieving this during Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, and doing so safely, is an exceptional achievement and we’d like to thank everyone who has risen to this challenge, especially our consultants, contractors and partners. We are incredibly proud of the result and excited to showcase our beautiful centre and its powerful retail mix. Richmond Corner, together with the entire Richmond Park development, is a symbol of confidence in South Africa’s future.”
The centre was initially scheduled to open three months earlier, but its final preparations were delayed with South Africa’s Covid-19 hard lockdown. With the economy opening up, Richmond Corner has become Atterbury’s first South African shopping to open after the lifting of construction restrictions.
