Across from the railway station in the middle class Cape Town suburb of Claremont is a large empty lot littered with weeds and broken glass. However, construction vehicles are already moving in to prepare for the construction of a R50 million, 2200 square metre shopping centre which will have as its anchor tenant a Woolworths Food store billed to be the greenest of all their stores.

Named Palmyra Junction after the road it is situated on, the development by Rabie Property Group on behalf of Insight will offer convenience not only to the residents of the medium density suburb, but to the thousands of commuters who use the Claremont public transport interchange, a stone's throw away.

The centre will also be located on one of the southern suburbs' main road and in close proximity to about 20 leading schools.

It will house 18 other retail tenants besides Woolworths, have parking for 140 vehicles, and 24-hour security backed up by CCTV cameras.

According to Rabie Property, the Woolworths food store is being designed with green building guidelines in mind, using renewable energy for underfloor heating and cooling, a grey water system and natural ventilation and orientation to minimise the need for air conditioning.

The centre is designed to have an internal open air piazza to enable restaurants, coffee shops and patrons to enjoy the open air without being blasted by the notorious Cape southeaster.

Built on an old railway siding, a combination of steel, glass and face brick is to be used in the construction, with historical elements recovered from the site included in the structure, such as recycled railway sleepers and tracks.

In addition, ten studio apartments would be built above the shops providing possible work from home opportunities.

Rabie development manager Colin Anderson said the planning and design of the centre had been eight years in the making, part of which involved getting the necessary development rights.

Anderson said Claremont was under serviced in terms of retail as there were simply not enough suitable large sites available for development.

As a result existing shopping facilities in the area were mostly limited to strip shops or small redevelopments, all of which had limited parking.

"Weekday trading hours will be from 8am to 8pm to benefit from the passing trade and provide convenient shopping for parents dropping their children off in the morning or picking them after school," he said.

Developer Neville Thornton, of Insight Property Developers, said the centre would increase the density of the area and reduce the number of people moving to the city.

Claremont ward councillor, Ian Iversen said the development as welcomed as it would improve the area.

Iversen said the fact that a previously vacant "dirty" lot was being put to good use was also a plus for the area.

He said the centre would be a boon for people living near and those using the Claremont public transport interchange which serves an average of 29 000 commuters per weekday.

The interchange is the sixth largest in the Cape Metropole and consists of a bus terminus, taxi rank and taxi holding area, with the train station on the other side of the Claremont Boulevard.

Completion of the centre is set for October 2010.