Plans to expand White Oak’s Mall will ‘future-proof’ the iconic South London shopping destination, a spokesperson said.
With IKEA recently opening in the former Hudson Bay space, the mall is now preparing for the opening of a high-tech soccer training space backed by world famous soccer player Christiano Ronaldo.
Tarik Kasem, General Manager Westdell Developments. (Benjamin McFadden/XFM News)
Portuguese-owned Footlab World is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered indoor soccer training facility with an indoor soccer pitch, kick practice simulators, and an equipment store. The set-up is similar to indoor golf simulators where professional players and hobbyists alike can have their kick scanned in real time.
“We believe that the traffic is going to be very intense,” said Tarik Kasem, the General Manager of Westdell Development. “There is going to be a lot of interest in checking it out and hopefully they come back for more,” said Kasem.
Other features coming to the South London location include, Swiss Chalet, Wing Stop and a Marriot hotel. Rough estimate opening date is set for spring of 2027.
This comes after Westdell Developments took over the mall and the Hudson’s Bay location closing down.
“The departure of Hudson’s Bay left a pretty wide gap in terms of our marketplace and community,” said Sarah Imrie, the marketing manager for Westdell Developments.
Sarah Imire, Marketing Manager with Westdell Development (Benjamin McFadden/XFM News)
“We are definitely filling that gap, between the 2 residential towers and Splitsville joining this project,” said Irmie.
As the mall expands so do the bus routes to the destination, with Rapid Transit bus lines preparing to setup close to the mall.
‘The south end community has always stood out and White Oaks has always been focused more on being a community hub,” said Irmie.
“White Oaks has been a part of the community for 50 years and we plan these changes will ensure we can do that for another 50 years,” said Irmie.
