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Canal Walk
Shopping mall in Cape Town, South Africa

Canal Walk is a prominent shopping mall located in Cape Town, South Africa. It forms part of Century City, a 250-hectare mixed-use development established in 1997 near the N1 freeway. As the largest mall in Cape Town and the third largest in Africa, Canal Walk showcases distinctive "Cape Venetian architecture." It houses over 400 stores, more than 8,000 parking bays, numerous restaurants, and an arcade, making it a key retail and entertainment destination in the region.

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History

Canal Walk was built in October 2000, at an estimated cost of around R1.3 billion. At the time of completion, the mall spanned around 125,000 square meters, and hosted 9,600 square meters of office space.9

The mall is owned by investment companies Hyprop (80%) and Ellerine Bros Ltd (20%).101112 In 2023, it was Hyprop's strongest performer, generating R1 billion in the month of December.13

In 2024, Canal Walk partnered with over 28 local artists and designers, and 200 students, to host an immersive art installation. This included the Blue Butterfly, which was created using over 200,000 beads, by learners from Marconi Bean Primary School, under the guidance of Art Afrique's master beading artist, Thokozani Twala. The installation also featured fynbos artwork, to honor Cape Town's natural beauty.14

Features

Canal Walk is classed as a super-regional mall, and is the only one of that size in the Western Cape province.15 It is open 7 days a week from 9AM to 9PM - longer hours than the norm for malls in Cape Town.1617

Canal Walk is home to over 400 stores, spread across almost 150,000 square meters, as well as 12 entrances, and over 8,000 parking bays.181920

Categories of retail and services offered at Canal Walk include books, cards, gifts, banking, cellular services, health, hair, beauty, decor, homeware, clothing, jewelry, fitness, toys, technology, food and beverage (including tea and coffee), pets, luggage, and automobiles.21

Anchor tenants include Woolworths, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Game, H&M, @home, Honda, Cape Union Mart, and Edgars.22

The mall hosts the Wonderland play centre, with an arcade, a bowling alley, and pool tables.23

Canal Walk also features a 2,600 square meter indoor adventure park, called Freedom Adventure Park, which offers guests access to zip lines, netball, basketball, slides, and a toddler play area.24

Concepts and flagships

Canal Walk has hosted the launch of numerous stores, including the first JD Sports store in South Africa, the first stand-alone Silki store in the country, and the maiden flagship store for Shift Espresso Bar.2526

Sustainability

Canal Walk makes use of numerous environmentally sustainable construction elements, including energy-efficient electronic ballasts, green roofing, efficient insulation, and a food waste yard for composting. The building's management has implemented a strategy to reduce water consumption, with a focus on customer and store usage. Efforts to reduce energy consumption are also undertaken.27

For making Cape Town greener and more environmentally sustainable, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) awarded Canal Walk a 5-Star Existing Building Performance v1 green rating in 2020.28 The mall received the award again in 2024.29

Canal Walk is involved with numerous community upliftment organizations, such as Ikamva Labantu, Stop Hunger Now, and LEAP Science & Maths Schools. The mall also assists schools and charity organizations in the Western Cape with their fundraising efforts continuously, and encourages its patrons to participate as well.30

References

  1. "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday". Crown Publications. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.crown.co.za/construction-world/property/18670-iconic-canal-walk-has-much-to-celebrate-on-its-21st-birthday ↩

  2. "Canal Walk Visitor Information Centre". Cape Town Green Map. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.capetowngreenmap.co.za/cape-town-green-map-online-map/culture-society-icons/information-centre/canal-walk-visitor-information-centre ↩

  3. "Contact Us". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/contact ↩

  4. "About Canal Walk". Top Media & Communications. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://top500.co.za/top500-companies/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  5. "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction". Cape Town Tourism. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.capetown.travel/attractions/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  6. "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction". Cape Town Tourism. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.capetown.travel/attractions/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  7. "About and Centre Management". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/page/about-and-centre-management ↩

  8. "Canal Walk Mall Map". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/mall-map#/ ↩

  9. "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday". Crown Publications. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.crown.co.za/construction-world/property/18670-iconic-canal-walk-has-much-to-celebrate-on-its-21st-birthday ↩

  10. "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday". Crown Publications. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.crown.co.za/construction-world/property/18670-iconic-canal-walk-has-much-to-celebrate-on-its-21st-birthday ↩

  11. Nico Gous (17 March 2023). "Hyprop's Canal Walk raked in R1bn turnover in December". BusinessDay. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/property/2023-03-17-hyprops-canal-walk-raked-in-r1bn-turnover-in-december/ ↩

  12. Luke Fraser (17 September 2024). "One of Joburg's biggest shopping malls is in trouble". BusinessTech. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/791363/one-of-joburgs-biggest-shopping-malls-is-in-trouble/ ↩

  13. Nico Gous (17 March 2023). "Hyprop's Canal Walk raked in R1bn turnover in December". BusinessDay. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/property/2023-03-17-hyprops-canal-walk-raked-in-r1bn-turnover-in-december/ ↩

  14. "Canal Walk Shopping Centre reveals new art installation for Spring & Summer 2024". Bizcommunity.com. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.bizcommunity.com/article/canal-walk-shopping-centre-reveals-new-art-installation-for-spring-summer-2024-696661a# ↩

  15. PropertyWheel_G (13 March 2025). "Hyprop reports double-digit distributable income growth and payout ratio increase". Property Wheel. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://propertywheel.co.za/2025/03/hyprop-reports-double-digit-distributable-income-growth-and-payout-ratio-increase/ ↩

  16. "Contact Us". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/contact ↩

  17. "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday". Crown Publications. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.crown.co.za/construction-world/property/18670-iconic-canal-walk-has-much-to-celebrate-on-its-21st-birthday ↩

  18. "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction". Cape Town Tourism. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.capetown.travel/attractions/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  19. "About Canal Walk". Top Media & Communications. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://top500.co.za/top500-companies/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  20. "About and Centre Management". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/page/about-and-centre-management ↩

  21. "Shops". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/shops ↩

  22. "Canal Walk Mall Map". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/mall-map#/ ↩

  23. "Canal Walk Shopping Centre - About the Attraction". Cape Town Tourism. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.capetown.travel/attractions/canal-walk-shopping-centre/ ↩

  24. "Freedom Adventure Park". Freedom Adventure Park (Pty)Ltd. go2africa. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.freedomadventurepark.co.za/freedom-canal-walk.html ↩

  25. PropertyWheel_G (13 March 2025). "Hyprop reports double-digit distributable income growth and payout ratio increase". Property Wheel. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://propertywheel.co.za/2025/03/hyprop-reports-double-digit-distributable-income-growth-and-payout-ratio-increase/ ↩

  26. Marleny Arnoldi (13 March 2025). "Favourable trade metrics boost Hyprop's interim distributable income growth by 14.5%". Creamer Media's Engineering News. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/favourable-trade-metrics-boost-hyprops-interim-distributable-income-growth-by-145-2025-03-13 ↩

  27. "Corporate Responsibility". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/page/corporate-responsibility ↩

  28. "Iconic Canal Walk has much to celebrate on its 21st birthday". Crown Publications. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://www.crown.co.za/construction-world/property/18670-iconic-canal-walk-has-much-to-celebrate-on-its-21st-birthday ↩

  29. "Corporate Responsibility". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/page/corporate-responsibility ↩

  30. "Corporate Responsibility". Hyprop. Retrieved 18 April 2025. https://canalwalk.co.za/page/corporate-responsibility ↩