Rosslyn Riviera Mall has finally opened its doors to the public

One of the newest shopping centres in Nairobi – Rosslyn Riviera Mall – has quietly opened doors to the public, without the fanfare that would be expected of a facility of that calibre.

According to its promoter Knight Frank, the three-level shopping mall will add 116,000 square feet of retail space in the market targeted at shops, restaurants, and entertainment and wellness outlets.

The owners of the Sh2.9 billion development are targeting the residents of Rosslyn, Muthaiga, Runda, Nyali, Gigiri, and Rwaka who may find it convenient to shop, dine, meet or unwind at the mall.

“We believe that Rosslyn Riviera will be a successful neighbourhood mall because of its location, size, concept, convenience, accessibility and target market,” Knight Frank’s head of marketing Mwihoti M’Mbijjewe said.

Rosslyn Riviera Mall, the brainchild of businessman Peter Gethi, the son of a Moi-era police commissioner Ben Gethi is set on a 4.5-acre piece of land in the Rosslyn suburb on Limuru Road.

“The development is informed by the same story of rising consumer spending by the growing middle class. However, ours is different because it is styled as a neighbourhood mall,” Mr Gethi, who inherited the land from his late father, said during the ground-breaking ceremony in 2014.

Rosslyn Riviera was initially scheduled to open its doors mid last year but there were some delays that affected its construction timelines.

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The mall has attracted several high profile tenants including the fast expanding Chandarana Supermarket, which is its anchor tenant, Java House, Planet Yoghurt, Nairobi Hospital, 360 Degrees Pizza, News Café, among others.

The development comes at a time when deep pocketed investors are rushing to put up multi-million dollar retail facilities in the rich neighbourhood targeting wealthy and middle-class residents.

NSE-listed Centum Group is, for example, has just opened a 62,000 square metres mall in the area. The facility, known as Two Rivers, is ranked as the largest shopping mall in east and central Africa.

The mall is part of a Sh17 billion mixed-use development by Centum on a parcel of land that was acquired from the Koinange family in a transaction estimated to be at least Sh1 billion.

Greenhills Ltd., owners of Village Market, is also undertaking a Sh5bn expansion plan that involves construction of a hotel at the mall. The expansion will allow the mall to meet the increasing demand for accommodation and retail space in the northern side of Nairobi.

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