Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Leading Stories >> 15 September 2007

Loch Logan Waterfront: Although huge, it still faces challenges

• Johann Dannhauser

Although the official opening of the upgrading of the Loch Logan Waterfront shopping and entertainment complex in Bloemfontein on 23 August 2007, is undoubtedly having one of the biggest impacts on the local and regional business sector for a long time, the project evidently still faces some considerable challenges.

The current upgrading, known as Phase 3, adds some 60 000m² under roof to the existing complex and making provision for some 2 500 parking bays. The project cost of Phase 3 amounts to some R350 million. The big national brands in retailing – name them, they are there – covering some 75% of lettable floor space.

The Loch Logan Waterfront was first opened in 1998 and bought over in the same year by the Georgiou Trust of Bloemfontein. In 2000 Phase 1 of upgrading was completed, with Phase 2 in 2002. It was by then already one of the largest complexes of its kind in the Free State, with some of the main drawing cards the well-equipped Super Sport Gym, Kloppers general dealer store, some trendy restaurants and a Nu-Metro cinema setting. Phase 3 has estimatedly trippled the existing build-up area of the complex.

Thus the Loch Logan Waterfront is probably in sheer size at present the biggest shopping and entertainment centre in the Free State. The complex disposes an unique ambience derived from an amphitheatrical lay-out incorporating natural beauty and commercial flair. It is further enhanced by its adjacency to the Free State Stadium, the Cricket Stadium and other centralized sports amenities. As such the Waterfront constitutes a regional player vis-à-vis business in central South Africa.

However as it currently is, the Free State Business Bulletin found that evidently challenges such as the following are still to be met:

There is still considerable construction and finishing-off to be completed, such as staircases, lifts, parking areas, automated parking mechanisms, shopfitting, pedestrian passages, driveways, etc. Looking for more information, Adele du Toit of the Free State Business Bulletin approached the website of Loch Logan Waterfront and lodged an enquiry, a response to which has not been received yet. Subsequently she approached the management office at the Waterfront, but was referred to “the office in Andries Pretorius Street”.

Having asked a few members of the public about their opinion of the upgraded complex, a student said the renovations should have been finished before opening to the public, labeling it as “too dusty”. While some were happy with “the one-stop shopping and entertainment experience”, others (more males) felt there are not enough restaurants.

People with disabilities did not seem impressed. “The floors are rather slippery and it is not easy to walk on them with crutches. Moreover, security would not allow me to park in the parking spot reserved for the disabled”, a disabled woman remarked. Even young women fashionably wearing high heels, were finding it difficult not to slip on the Waterfront floors. A suggestion was made that “management should rather make the Waterfront floors more user-friendly than fashion-friendly.”

Another aspect of concern is the quality of water in the lake of Loch Logan. It was recently reported that the e.coli level in this water tipped 800 per 100 ml, whilst the accepted figure for drinking water is zero. Without expecting of course the lake water to be comparable to drinking quality, it nevertheless gives an indication of the measure of contamination. It is, however, accepted that the management of the Loch Logan Waterfront is working on an environmental master plan.

Situated within the larger CBD area of Bloemfontein, the Waterfront would be prone to crime occurrence and drug peddling and therefore security on high alert also poses a specific challenge.

Be as it may, the Loch Logan Waterfront is a too big phenomenon and experience to be missed by anyone. The current upgrade would eventually boast some 30 restaurants, take-away places, etc.; 62 clothing, jewelry, etc. shops; 12 health and beauty spots; 15 lifestyle shops and one gym; 15 suppliers for home and house needs; and 16 service providers of a variety, including five banks. The complex has also recently won a prestigious PMR.africa award for the single development contributing most to economic growth in the Free State during the past two years. So it is up to everyone to make his or her own assessment of the Loch Logan Waterfront.