The Expansion

THE EXPANSION
COMMERCIAL RENOVATION A6
THE INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY AWARDS

CONTENT

A. OVERVIEW
B. LOCATION
C. LAYOUT, APPEARANCE,
SUSTAINABILITY AND FINISH
D. SAFETY, SECURITY
AND INNOVATION
E. MARKETING

A. OVERVIEW

THE EXPANSION
The Expansion is an extension to MARAKEZ’s fully integrated
flagship, Mall of Arabia- re-positioning the entire
property as an excellent retail and leisure destination for
the community. The Expansion is locally sensitive and directly
responds to the needs and wants of the local community.
It provides an array of functions, activities, and
services under one roof, in a convenient format to be useful
to all surrounding residents. It does not only focus on
the elements within the destination but the quality of the
experience of its guests..

Activities vary, including live entertainment with bands
and musicians, as well as yoga, meditation and pilates
classes held weekly by prominent athletes who make use
of the jogging track surrounding The Park. In addition
to the kids playground and the kids maze, kids activities
are also being held each week to compliment the season
including hair and face painting as well as art and
craft activities. The Expansion recently hosted The Trolls
show and The Looney Tunes Show for the very first time
in Egypt.

DESIGN CRITERIA
The main aim was for the design to be contemporary and
timeless. Since the project is a property that we, the developer,
will manage and operate for decades, it was always
important for it not to feel outdated over the years.
The focus was not on one particular style or architectural
language, but rather to dissect the core experiential qualities
that will make guests feel comfortable. The project
aims to appeal to high-end clientele but we had established
that it is not necessarily how expensive the materials
we use that define how luxurious or comfortable the
experience is, but rather other less tangible aspects such
as; sense of space, natural light, and greenery.

PROJECT GOALS
Meeting Community Needs
Since the launch of Phase 1, there was strong demand
for additional retail space and the need for an expansion
was clear. This is in addition to catering to the increasing
needs of visitors. By looking beyond current local trends,
we were able to offer positive collective experiences for
our communities to meet their diverse needs.
Going Beyond Typical Shopping Malls
With an aim to re-position Mall of Arabia as a world-class
retail and leisure destination for the community, The
Expansion has gone beyond typical shopping malls and
explored other areas, such as working, picnicking, exercising,
furnishing, banking, and dining, giving its visitors
immersive, fun entertainment experiences in one place.

Opening Date: 2011
GLA: 160k sqm
Retail outlets: 400+
Anchors: 16
Cinema Screens: 11
Mall of Arabia
Changing the Face of The City’s Retail
Scene
One of Egypt’s largest shopping malls, Mall of Arabia is
West Cairo’s go-to destination for shopping, dining and
entertainment. With its newly launched masterpiece
Phase 2, namely The Expansion, Mall of Arabia is home to
several game-changing facilities, including The Park and
The Food Hall. In short, there’s something for everyone
at Mall of Arabia. Earning great reviews from travelers
across the world, Mall of Arabia won several awards in
recognition of its innovative design and development.

TARGET MARKET
Focusing on customer experience:
The Expansion significantly increased the frequency of
individual visitors and duration of their visits. The Expansion
re-positioned the mall into a more comprehensive
retail and urban destination. The 8-acre community park
in a city that is starving for quality green spaces. The project
has provided a destination in which families can spend
their leisure time in a safe and healthy environment. The
project has been well received by retailers and on its way
to becoming commercially successful.
Using a simple Facebook group, of 25k current members,
we were able to effectively reach out to the community
and ask them what services, activities and tenants they
wanted to see in a mall.

What’s special about
The Expansion?
Building an in-mall community that includes
new features such as:
1- THE FOOD HALL spread over 3,000 sim
Indulging Guests in Diverse Food Experiences and a variety of cuisines from
both well established operators and young up-and-coming brands
2- HIGH END FASHION STORES
3- THE PARK
spread over 34,000 square meter that includes an events lawn, an outdoor
fitness area, a jogging track, a kids’ maze and a playground
4- IKEA’s first store in West Cairo
5- SUBURBAN TODDLERS : the first in-mall nursery
6- CO WORKING OFFICE SPACES

The project is located on a main square at
the heart of West Cairo.
With easy access to main roads and highways, The Expansion
located within Egypt’s renowned mixed-use development,
Central West, is in a strategic location at the crossroads
of two main highways: 26th of July & Dahshour Axis
with short connections to the Mehwar, West Cairo Airport,
Desert Road and Ring Road.

B. LOCATION

The Expansion aims to recreate a sense of community
found in urban settings with the conveniences of a shopping
center. The project aspires to integrate itself into the
daily lives of its guests and be the heart and soul of the
community.
Main Characteristics:
- Building setback of minimum 100m from the surrounding
roads
- Sufficient surface parking for guests
- Abundant and environmentally appropriate landscaping
incorporated in the parking design
- 40% green footprint

C. LAYOUT, APPEARANCE,
SUSTAINABILITY AND FINISH

Drawing from Middle Eastern aesthetic, we imbued it with
traditional elements such as mashrabia, arched gateways,
domed ceilings and sacred geometry, marrying it to
sleek, innovative design; the result is a timeless and refined
space, host to the most high-end brands and dining
spots. With its 12m high ceilings, the space breaths opulence.
The Atrium, a vital point of transition into the park,
is endowed with towering glass facades, coaxing natural
light in to mix with the abstract tree-like light posts, gently
merging the outdoors with the indoors. The food court,
with its ample passages, geometric patterns of metal and
wood, and wide shop facades and alleys, communicates
an experience that is extravagantly metropolitan

THE EXPANSION
STATISTICS

N.B: Most tenants finish their units themselves

D. SAFETY, SECURITY AND INNOVATION

A SAFE & HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR A BETTER COM-
MUNITY
Through The Expansion, we have redefined the meaning
of a shopping mall and its role in adding value to the community.
The distinctive idea of this project is not to only
bring anchor stores to the city, but also to better serve
the community with advantageous facilities, such as The
Park and the preschool. By providing a truly unique selling
proposition, this project has addressed the needs of
the local community and provided a convenient destination
with ample parking and everything one needs under
one roof. In a city that is starving for quality green spaces,
The Expansion offers a community park in which families
can spend their leisure time in a safe and healthy environment.

SUSTAINABILITY
CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
At The Expansion, we have incorporated technical solutions
to minimize energy and water consumption and we
are currently investigating the possibility of implementing
a District Cooling Plant as well as a solar panel network
on the roof of the building, effective heat recovery from
technical systems and appliances, LED lighting throughout
the entire mall, optimized ventilation, low-flow water
fixtures and toilet, used local materials to reduce their
embodied energy & used natural Gas where possible.

BRINGING A NEW CONCEPT TO SHOPPING CENTERS IN
EGYPT AND THE REGION
Nested in the Heart of Mall of Arabia’s Phase 2, MARAKEZ
has successfully turned a desert land into breathtaking
green areas, providing an expansive green refuge to
the bustling city, broadening Entertainment Options For
Egyptian Families, we looked beyond current local trends
for Mall of Arabia’s phase 2 - The Expansion. We strove
to innovate and to predict how shopping centers needed
to evolve in order to cater to an ever-aspiring community
with diverse desires, all in one place. This meant looking
beyond fashion retail and diversifying into other areas
such as working, picnicking, exercising, furnishing, banking,
dining, etc..

SOME OF OUR PARTNERS AT
THE EXPANSION

E. MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA

GOLD AWARD to Mall of Arabia’s Phase 2 at the 2019
Middle East Council of Shopping Centers and Retail
(MECS+R), in recognition of its design and development
Best Built Commercial Project in Egypt to Mall of Arabia’s
Phase II 2 at the 2019 Cityscape Egypt

TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for consistently
earning great reviews from travelers
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS