Leratong City opens as a R5bn mixed-use node for North West Soweto
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After 16 years of planning, the R5bn Leratong City development in Kagiso is opening its first stage on 29 October, anchoring a regional mall, a 3,000-person entertainment precinct, a private hospital and a planned 15,000 homes.
Leratong City, a R5 billion mixed-use development at the gateway to North West Soweto, is opening its first stage on 29 October after 16 years of planning and delays, turning a long-standing concept into a built urban node.
The scheme in Kagiso, at the R41/R558 crossroads just north-west of Soweto, is built around a regional mall, a 3,000-person entertainment precinct, a private hospital and 15,000 planned homes. Developers describe it as an "intelligent urban district", part of the smart-city vision President Cyril Ramaphosa set out in 2019, rather than a stand-alone shopping centre.
At its centre is Levels, a 750-seat covered amphitheatre inside a precinct designed for more than 3,000 people, with a 40m² digital screen on a custom sliding stage. It opens onto an 11-restaurant food court, two indoor play areas, three additional sit-down restaurants and a 300m² outdoor play zone.
The concept originated in Zimbabwe, where McCormick Property Development managing director Jason McCormick designed a regional mall built around a performance amphitheatre facing its main intersection. That project was shelved when the country's politics shifted, but the layout has been revived for Kagiso.
The site connects Soweto, Randfontein, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp and the Johannesburg CBD, and sits opposite Leratong Hospital, a provincial facility that brings a steady flow of patients, staff and visitors. In the wider area 43% of residents are employed, 28% are unemployed and 30% are not economically active, according to Stats SA and AfricaEye data. Of the 495 people currently employed on site, 330 are from the local area, and 28 local small businesses have been appointed to provide services.