Transforming Accra West: The story of West Hills Mall
It is Thursday morning. In Dansoman, a proud David Arthur, a Projects Coordinator in Accra makes a whole ceremony out of the unwrapping (more like unveiling) and mounting of his sparkling new 52 inch digital LED television set. His family of five looks on with anticipation. He bought it just the previous day from Palace at the West Hills Mall.
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At McCarthy Hill, Mrs. Kwofie, a housewife, is busily unpacking eight bags of grocery from West Hill’s Shoprite into storage; Denis of Kaneshie works at the Barcelos eatery; Elikam of Kasoa is a sales person at Edgars, while Joshua of Kokrobite is a head waiter at Bassiliza, a restaurant at West Hills’ food court. These three hardly know one another but have one crucial thing in common. They all converge on West Hills Mall every morning to work and earn a living.
Conservatively, some 1,500 young men and women like them, from various parts of Accra (but mostly from communities within the Accra West area) irk a living at West Hills Mall on a permanent basis. In the environs of the mall, has emerged a booming, top class taxi cab service, with a new focus on tidiness of the cabs and strict discipline among chauffeurs.
Hub for things that glitter
One thing is certain. All of a sudden, the western part of capital which had, for many years been left behind in the crunchy social dynamics of the city of Accra and which used to rely entirely on the East side for anything exciting and entertaining, is now becoming a hub for everything that glitters - from shopping to entertainment and quality recreation. It may be true when those who shop and play at West Hills say that the place has an irresistible charm which makes people want to visit again and again.
That is how fast and how incisively mall is influencing trends and lifestyle West of Accra. Although barely one year old, it has practically affected the status of the capital’s Westside in respect of modern shopping trends and has drastically modified the content and style of local retail business, commerce, recreation and popular entertainment.
Touted in the retail shopping industry as West Africa’s biggest, the mall sits on a 27,500 square metre plus space and is home to more than 60 line shops and two massive anchor tenants – the food giant, Shoprite and the Ghanaian domestic hardware store, Palace.
Significant benefit
One significant benefit of locating this infrastructure away from the constricted eastside of town and also away from Accra’s main business district is the abundance of room and space - one of the many attributes which make the mall the toast of shopping centres in West Africa. There is ample room not only for its anchor departments and the more than 60-plus line shops, but also for literally everything that can be displayed for shoppers – cars, machines, domestic hardware, electronics, fashion and lifestyle, pharmaceuticals, food, clothing and eateries. Even more awesome is the Mall’s exterior space, which comes with a capacity to comfortably accommodate more than 1,400 cars simultaneously. This makes West Hills’ parking the biggest single private car park in the country.
Residents of Accra West do not only claim the bragging rights for ‘ownership’ of the city’s finest and biggest shopping centre, but also get to enjoy related infrastructure that came with the facility – such as the Mall’s Access Interchange.
The Mall’s US$10 million access interchange has preserved the free flow of motor traffic on the highway and provided safe and unencumbered access to the shopping centre and adjoining homes for motorists, residents and pedestrians respectively. Property owners in the neighbourhood are said to be happily cashing in on surging values for their property while land value around the West Hills Mall’s catchment area – between Aplaku and New Bortianor – began rising sharply right from the day construction of the Mall commenced in December 2012. A standard 70*100-foot plot of land that sold for between GH¢10,000 and GH¢13,000 now ranges from GH¢17,000 to GH¢20,000, representing a value increase of over 50 per cent.
Beyond the aesthetic beauty of the West Hills Mall edifice, the developer’s expertise in urban drainage systems has saved adjoining communities from the endemic scourge of flooding during rainy seasons. The Municipal Assembly, Weija Police Command and residents say they used the June 3 floods as the main test for the integrated storm drainage system built as part of the West Hills Mall project and they all confirm that flood prone areas like the Dunkonah Old Shoprite area, SCC Junction, and Mandela were all protected from flooding thanks to the storm drains.
Recognisable address
Suddenly, the area around the mall has become a recognisable address for offices, residences and other retail outlets and property owners on the shoulders of the Mall who hitherto struggled for tenants now know no hassle and rentals are inching up. Demand and rentals for residential property are also on the rise. Sandpark Estates, Accra West’s premier gated residential community, which is only a stroll away from West Hills Mall now appears to have some competition as residential estate developers have suddenly discovered the beauty and wealth of the west and are trooping into the enclave.
Judging from its popularity after just 10 months of operation, West Hills Mall can be described as the vehicle which opened up the previously isolated and ignored West of Accra to the rest of the capital city. For conceiving of West Hills Mall and actually making it a reality, the city of Accra are thankful to the developers - Delico Property Investments Ghana Limited and their partner, Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).