Business Day HomeFront 21 September 2018

HOMEFRONT 13 OCTOBER 2016 WWW.BDLIVE.CO.ZA 21 SEPTEMBER 2018 WWW.BUSINESSLIVE.CO.ZA

MUST READ

Office designs draw on homely appeal PAGE 2

Taking the mystery out of the art trade PAGE 4

Global retirees lured to Cape Town PAGE 12

Multigenerational estates make sense

Clear-water lagoon complex opens PAGE 15

Lifestyle developments increasingly embrace young, old and everyone in between

PAGE 6

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Office furniture by Raw Studios

DESIGN

Smart work spaces Interior specialists are crafting offices to feel more like home — and companies serious about retaining talent are listening

O

ffices today are about flexibility in both private and collaborative areas. They are healthier, people-centric and feel more like home. Four local office designers are upping the ante.

Alice Hutton of Alice Hutton Studios This year’s winner of the Best Office Design award at 100% Design is a skilled professional who spent 23 years designing corporate workplaces for O’Sullivan & Company, including Investec offices in London and New York.

Now Hutton has opened her own interior design studio in Johannesburg.

Hutton says biophilic design is behind her awardwinning office installation.

This hot new industry topic refers to the innate need to connect with nature. “I used systems of natural colours inspired by Johannesburg’s urban forest,” she says “A

WORDS: HILARY PRENDINI TOFFOLI :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Office installation by Alice Hutton Studios

brightly coloured lounger as a focal point, positioned on an innovative urbaninspired moss and cobbled contract carpet.”

Usually working in collaboration with savvy and imaginative young local designers who she believes challenge top international brands with their quality and creativity, Hutton chose, in this case, Dokter and Misses and Monique Vee. She says contemporary South African offices are becoming increasingly comfortable and more human. Because they feel more like home, they lead to a more productive environment.

She sees technology integration totally changing offices. “Technology allows for freedom of movement.

This flexibility allows for more multipurpose office environments and furniture, so we can design more creative office spaces.

Collaborative hot-desking and more relaxed loungelike meeting spaces create

a more approachable and shared open work space.”

Peet van Straaten of Raw Studios Pretoria-based Van Straaten is a passionate and uncompromising furniture design whizz who has worked in the Netherlands and studied green architecture in the UK. Having witnessed how environmentally damaging some production processes can be, he’s determined to keep his products earth friendly. His beautifully crafted modular office furniture systems are made from birch plywood grown in sustainably managed forests in Finland. They embody his philosophy that offices should be healthy, people-welcoming environments. Employees should be surrounded by natural materials.

Van Straaten’s simple, elegant structures can be combined in different ways and are found in the offices

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AIG office by Tetris Design and Build

“Hutton says biophilic design is behind her awardwinning office installation.

This hot new industry topic refers to the innate need to connect with nature”

of companies such as I-CAT, the Pretoria environmental solutions company, Nando’s head office in Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal’s legendary Africa Centre for Population Health, MTN and the SABS. He says companies serious about retaining talent are giving staff light, colourful workspaces that encourage productivity.

“Office design is moving away from open floor plans where everyone is thrown

into one space, towards something in the middle — not cubicles, but soft areas beyond the essential focus work areas,” says Van Straaten. “Offices are creating agile spaces that encourage change and enable new ways of working without restrictions.”

Rachel Andrews of Tetris Andrews says office walls are no longer

merely functional, but an opportunity to boost productivity or make a brand statement. She is senior designer at the Johannesburg offices of global design and build fitout company Tetris Design and Build, and has degrees in interior design and mechanical engineering.

“At AIG insurance company we were asked to create an interior with a ‘splash of colour’. We took

Cabinets by MotherCityHardware PRODUCED BY BLACKSTAR PROPERTY PUBLISHING 1st Floor, Block H, Sable Square, Cnr Bosmansdam and Ratanga roads, Milnerton, Cape Town 021 447 7130

A EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Kim Maxwell Designer: Samantha Durand

this literally on the wall in their breakaway coffee area,” she says. “The client loved this interpretation of the brief and says it helps create the vibrancy they wanted for the office environment.”

In her view a growing number of office designers are realising that diverse work models and generations require a balance of diverse workspaces. “Staff now operate not only from traditional workstations, but often throughout the office in breakaway areas — strategic spaces for companies to heighten productivity.

“A key way to bring nature into an office is by a series of screening walls constructed as shelves dotted with plants to add greenery and light,” says Andrews. Or by creating a space for a living wall, as done for reinsurance group Hannover Re. An effective brand statement for the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills was made by embedding a section of the company’s logo into the timber wall panelling in the waiting area.

Marco Simal of MotherCityHardware A range of appealingly maverick cabinet designs inspired by the traditional school locker won Simal the Best Product Design award at 100% Design this year.

“MotherCityHardware launched three years ago off the back of a client’s request for storage that was robust and utilitarian,” says Simal. “We asked a locker manufacturer if he could adapt his sizing and build a range with the home and office in mind.”

What they came up with is a contemporary range that includes mini-lockers for individual storage and a variety of larger and taller sideboard lockers for general storage or smaller team setups. There are more than 10 colours to choose from.

“Many clients use bright, bold colours to make a statement,” says Simal. “But we also carry neutral tones.”

They have since completed a system that combines shelving, desks and storage.

This year Simal and his business partner Justin Rhodes opened a curated workspace named Tiny Empire in a 100-year-old tea warehouse on Cape Town’s Buitenkant Street. With private and collaborative areas that skilfully draw on the work of local designers in a selection of office space solutions, it gives digital nomads and hot-desking coworkers a place to call home.

PUBLICATION ADVERTISING SALES

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Michèle Jones Susan Erwee

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INVESTMENT

Hidden treasure?

Things to know about art valuations, auctions and investing know-how WORDS: ANNE SCHAUFFER :: PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK

“The auction world is totally transparent and not an intimidating space at all” Alistair Meredith, art specialist, Strauss & Co Fine Art Auctioneers and Consultants

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ecently in London, an artwork relegated to the owners’ spare room was auctioned for a few hundred thousand pounds. The owners had stashed it away and had no idea of its value.

We hear these stories, but the reality is that most people don’t know where to begin if trying to ascertain whether the personal artwork in their home has any value.

Alistair Meredith, an art specialist at Strauss & Co Fine Art Auctioneers and Consultants, is well aware of how the art world can be daunting. “We work hard to dispel that,” he says. “The auction world is totally transparent and not an intimidating space at all.”

Meredith says what people

see in the movies — large, silent New York galleries with intimidating staff — has created a daunting image of art exclusivity.

“We run live and online art auctions, have road shows where the public can bring artworks to be valued, and we respond happily to e-mails requesting valuations or opinions,” he says. “Just provide us with a photograph of the artwork, its dimensions and the artist’s name. Sometimes it is near impossible to value — say, an 18th century artwork with no signature.”

VALUATION How do they arrive at a valuation? “We rely entirely on auction precedents and are very objective and market-related; we try to find similar work sold on

auction (in terms of the artist, size, medium and condition) and those results determine broad objective guideline figures for that particular work.”

An art auction is a simple, transparent process. “Each piece has a clearly stated guideline price. You choose how high you want to bid.

If you win the auction, you pay the hammer price (and a stated premium) and it’s yours. What the work sells for is up to the market (everybody in the auction room or online). It’s very down to earth,” he says.

Meredith says it is a myth that you could inadvertently bid on an item by unconsciously scratching your nose during an auction. “You have to register before you bid, and you’ll be given a bidding

paddle. When you bid, the auctioneer will ask you if you intended to do so.”

INSIDE TRACK The South African art market has exploded over the past decade. “There’s been huge interest in local art from South Africans, expats and, increasingly, the international market,” says Meredith.

“We’re always a little hesitant about speaking about art as a pure investment because nobody has a crystal ball, but the more research you do, the better idea you have of an artist’s trajectory.

“Read up and speak to dealers, art galleries and auction house specialists.

But buy art you love and enjoy it every day on your wall as it appreciates.”

Sound advice.

HOMEFRONT NEW URBANISM

Multigenerational estates make L sense Lifestyle developments increasingly embrace young, old and everyone in between WORDS: HELEN GRANGE :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Zimbali Lakes, KwaZulu-Natal north coast

Sibaya Coastal Precinct, KwaZulu-Natal north coast

Steyn City, Midrand

iving in estates that accommodate all generations has been a growing trend in SA for economic and security reasons, but also because three, or even four generations living in close proximity promotes a healthy social balance.

Lifestyle estates are increasingly embracing young, old and everyone in between, in sectional title homes as well as rental apartments, providing facilities that cater to children, working adults and those in their golden years, and providing convenience and security.

“Mixed-use developments are a relatively new phenomenon in SA, but globally they’ve been trending for many years,” says Amdec Property Developments MD Nicholas Stopforth. “It’s called new urbanism, and it’s today’s lifestyle of choice. The demand is high, because they also offer excellent investment opportunities,” says Stopforth.

Lifestyle estates such as Steyn City in Midrand, Sibaya Coastal Precinct in KwaZulu-Natal and Val de Vie in the Western Cape have all gone this route, offering an enviable lifestyle replete with nearby schools, shops, medical or care facilities and every manner

of sport or leisure activity.

And as they evolve, these multigenerational estates are embracing more investment brackets, offering a mix of apartments, townhouses and freestanding units of one to five bedrooms, priced anywhere from about R1m to R20m and beyond.

Gauteng Steyn City is a prime example of a multigenerational estate, with its huge diversity of owners and tenants and range of properties priced from about R2.2m to more than R25m.

Its new “city centre”, scheduled for launch in 2020, will include about 739 apartments and a central piazza with retail, restaurants and lifestyle offerings.

“The apartments and shops will be wheelchair friendly, and children have the option to attend Steyn City School, which opened this year,” says Marie Yossava, spokesperson for Steyn City.

“There are several play and recreational nodes within the parkland residence, including a skate park for teens. Our first office block in our new commercial park is under construction and will be completed in 2019.”

HOMEFRONT

Val de Vie, Cape winelands

Century City, Cape Town

Waterfall Estate, Midrand

“Mixed-use developments are a relatively new phenomenon in SA, but globally they’ve been trending for many years” Nicholas Stopforth, MD, Amdec Property Developments

Many estates include separate retirement villages within the development. A good example is Century Property Developments’ Waterfall Estates between Kyalami and Sandton in Midrand, embracing Waterfall Hills and Waterfall Valley mature lifestyle estates.

Aside from the myriad facilities expected of a top lifestyle estate — sport, walking trails, gym, pool, coffee shop, restaurant, movie theatre, hairdresser and health spa — retirees and the elderly have access a frail care facility and onsite nursing staff, who can provide assisted living services at Waterfall Hills Mature Lifestyle Estate.

CHOICE

Heritage Estate, Modderfontein

“The choice of houses, cluster homes, apartments and retirement homes as either rental or investment opportunities means you can be accommodated in every life stage from young adult, to having a family, to having grandchildren, to downscaling to a lock-up-and-go,” says Jessica Hofmeyr, Century Property Developments executive for sales, rental, marketing and operations.

“It is a formula that has proven so successful that Century is already applying it to their other major lifestyle estates, such as The Hills Game Reserve Estate in Pretoria East and Helderfontein Estate in Fourways.”

Similarly, Heritage Estate in Modderfontein, which began as a mature

lifestyle estate attracting people over 60, has since drawn a younger market that includes investors buying to let.

“Our market has expanded to include healthy, working 50-somethings and the lock-up-and-go apartments are popular with investors or people buying for their parents,” says Aristy Economacos of estate developers Norym Properties.

Western Cape The prestigious Val de Vie estate near Paarl in the Cape winelands has also embraced retirees more fully with Val de Vie Evergreen, its “next chapter” that opens in June 2019. It is aimed at over-60s with the offer of 400 exclusive homes, 208 apartments and an 80-bed frail care facility.

“Our resident demographics are evenly split between those commuting, those working from home, and retired couples or ‘swallows’. The buyers are discerning and want excellent investments in the long term,” says Val de Vie group marketing director Ryk Neethling.

Nearer Cape Town is De Plattekloof Lifestyle Estate, aimed at over-50s, which includes homes, apartments and the Tijgerzicht assisted living suites to be launched this year.

Century City near Canal Walk is another soughtafter multigenerational estate — offering contemporary penthouses,

family homes and spacious apartments. Buh-Rein Estate near Durbanville is attracting first-time buyers to its townhouses and apartments, as well as retirees who have a choice of 393 independentliving and 68 assistedliving apartments.

Eastern Cape The mixed-use, multigenerational estate has come to Port Elizabeth in Amdec’s Westbrook Estate.

The development will comprise 3,500 homes spread across nine residential villages with a “town square” and a variety of commercial and retail space.

“We have put R91m into this development this year alone,” says Westbrook MD Clifford Oosthuizen. “We cater for everyone — from first-time buyers and small families to empty nesters who don’t yet want to move into a retirement village,” Oosthuizen says.

“You can get cheaper houses in the city, but your investment value simply won’t increase as fast or by as much.”

In East London, Kidds Beach Green Estate comprises six estates with homes ranging in price from R700,000 to R10m.

The estate caters for growing families, investors and luxury buyers. Amenities include private schools, a shopping centre, office parks, a private hospital, a high performance sports centre and a hotel and conference centre. An assisted-living

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Westbrook Estate, Port Elizabeth section offering 200 retirement rental units based on the life rights model is planned.

KwaZulu-Natal The KwaZulu-Natal northern seaboard is dotted with multigenerational estates. Sibaya Coastal Precinct in Umhlanga includes Shoreline Sibaya, which consists of 400 modern singlelevel sectional title apartments for over55s in a wheelchairfriendly environment.

Phase 1 consists of 223 properties and occupancy will be in early 2019.

“Research from the Retire KZN campaign indicates that about 43% of retirees now look for a property price point of between R1m and R2.5m.

The studio apartments at Shoreline Sibaya start at R1.4m while onebedroom apartments begin at R1.9m,” says Louise Hunt, spokesperson for Sibaya Coastal Precinct.

“Because of the interest in retirement property as an investment opportunity, the developers have permitted buyers as young as 20, although occupation only occurs once the homeowner turns 55,” says Hunt.

“The buyers are discerning and want excellent investments in the long term” Ryk Neethling, group marketing director, Val de Vie

Edenwood, The Wolds and the newly launched Mount Edgecombe Retirement Village.

Zimbali Lakes Resort north of Ballito extended its cross-generational appeal as Evergreen Lifestyle launched a R3bn retirement offering this year.

Evergreen Lifestyle Zimbali Lakes includes apartments to be sold on a life rights basis and an array of luxury lifestyle amenities is in the pipeline.

Close by is Brettenwood Coastal Estate, with its retirement offering of Forest Village.

Further north, Palm Lakes Family Estate, a development with a full suite of facilities, includes the Lakes Retirement Village, which tailor-makes a retirement home package to suit individual needs.

These range from full title homes to sectional title.

The development includes a healthcare centre.

Kindlewood Estate, Mount Edgecombe

Kidds Beach Green Estate, East London

PHASES Kindlewood Estate in Mount Edgecombe attracts a full range of investors, from firsttime buyers looking to establish their roots to retired couples seeking an active, outdoor lifestyle.

“Kindlewood has homes and facilities suited to every phase of life,” says Mondli Msani, development manager of Tongaat Hulett Developments.

Kindlewood developments include Norfolk Valley, The Links, Kindlewood Crest, The Kindles, Kariwood,

Steyn City, Midrand

Palm Lakes Family Estate, KwaZulu-Natal north coast

HOMEFRONT PROPERTY TREND

Cape Town’s global retirement pull The Mother City offers excellent luxury-for-price value to foreign retirees. Joburg is also getting a look-in WORDS: STAFF REPORTER :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

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Evergreen Noordhoek, Cape Town

ncreasing longevity and quality of lifestyle trends are strengthening retirement property markets worldwide.

With retirees now looking at investment options in international destinations, Cape Town is emerging as a viable luxury-forprice proposition.

Cape Town’s luxury residential retiree market is in a prime position within the investment landscape, even if prices are being driven up by the city’s limited space to build and increasing demand by “semigration” buyers from other provinces such as Gauteng.

According to the Knight Frank 2018 Wealth Report’s Prime International Residential Index (PIRI 100), the second-largest rise in international investment equities over the past year was in property, with private investors looking to capitalise on overseas properties in 2018.

Cape Town ranks second to Guangzhou in the Knight Frank Piri 100 global luxury residential market performance index (December 2016 to December 2017), with 19.9% growth.

Analysis of global luxury residential property markets reveals the comparative floor space that $1m can buy in 20 key cities. Monaco is the most expensive for retirees to invest in at just 16m2.

COMPETITIVE Cape Town, ranked second among the top-performing luxury property markets globally, is the most competitive at 157m2.

Investors in New York can buy 25m2, in Sydney 48m2 and in Berlin 77m2.

“Retirement living options in other countries are very expensive when compared with Cape Town,” says Richard Hardie, CEO of Knight Frank SA’s residential operations.

“For example, the asking

price for a 91m2, twobedroom flat in London is £4.1m, whereas £3.9m (about R65m) in Cape Town would fetch a fivebedroomed homestead with two guest cottages, staff accommodation and stabling for five horses, totalling a whopping 18,926m2.”

TRENDS On the ground, property market activities in Cape Town confirm both the international trends and the allure of Cape Town’s luxury floor space.

Knight Frank’s South African agents have closed purchases with a number of foreign buyers at luxury retirement complexes.

Two recent examples include a 36m2 Beach Road, Mouille Point, studio apartment in inclusive frail care retirement complex Good Hope Park, selling for R1.7m.

A two-bedroom apartment with a parking bay in Hout Bay, in premier secure retirement complex Kronendal Retirement Village, sold for R2.64m.

“Retirement complexes in Germany are very expensive. I have had some German buyers recently looking at Good Hope Park in Mouille Point because it offers excellent value for money compared with their home country,” says Knight Frank agent Paul Thorndike.

LUXURY

De Plattekloof Lifestyle Estate, Cape Town northern suburbs

Kronendal Retirement Village, Hout Bay

De Plattekloof Lifestyle Estate, between Bellville and Bloubergstrand, is intended for those who wish to retire in an environment that is more luxury hotel than oldage facility.

The architecture, product choice, interior furnishings and service providers have been carefully selected, making this retirement at its finest.

Set in picturesque

HOMEFRONT “Retirement living options in other countries are very expensive when compared with Cape Town” Richard Hardie, CEO residential operations, Knight Frank SA

Celebration Retirement Estate, North Riding, Johannesburg surroundings, MSP’s Zevenwacht Lifestyle Estate on the Stellenbosch Wine Route offers four-tier security as well as three kinds of homes for over-50s, including lifestyle houses in the Under the Vine village, retirement apartments in Merlot Village and suites in the Vine Manor assisted living and care centre, which also offers frail care facilities.

There is the Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, lifestyle centres, vineyards, orchards, the L’Huguenot cellar, a Fleet Coffee Roastery, two restaurants, the Pearl Valley Hotel and a Camelot Spa. Evergreen Lifestyle Village Noordhoek homes are in a relaxed country atmosphere close to the city, with views of the mountain and sea.

Phase 2 of the development has just launched.

PORTFOLIO Evergreen Lifestyle’s portfolio includes six retirement villages, in Bergvliet, Diep River, Muizenberg, Noordhoek and Lake Michelle in Cape Town, and Val de Vie in the winelands near Paarl.

Val de Vie Evergreen is about 35 minutes from the coast. Phase 1 is due for completion next year.

Residents will have access to all amenities on Val de Vie estate, which include 42km of trails for walking, cycling and jogging.

OPTIONS

Buh-Rein Estate, Cape Town

Buh-Rein Estate in the northern suburbs of Cape Town will soon have a retirement village to complete the range of residential options for buyers of all ages.

Launched in August, the village will have more than 470 sectional title retirement units in a range of sizes in nine two- and three-storey blocks with lifts, a clubhouse, function hall, lifestyle centre, care centre and pool.

And at the exclusive La Récolte Retirement Village in Stellenberg, Cape Town, phase 2 is 80% sold out.

The northern suburbs estate launched phase 3, its assisted living development, in August. Phase 2 includes the 42-unit Block B, to be completed in early 2019, with occupation expected in February, says Jaco Steyn of Steyter Construction.

Phase 3 will comprise 54 studio and one-bedroom assisted living suites, ranging from 20m² to 42m².

LIFESTYLE

Studio apartment in Good Hope Park, Mouille Point, listed by Knight Frank for R1.7m

While Johannesburg ranked only 67th in the Knight Frank Piri 100 index, it offers good property investment value compared with most international cities. Buyers in Gauteng are investing in retirement lifestyle developments and enjoying returns of up to 20% a year, says Charl van Niekerk,

Central Developments marketing manager for Celebration Retirement Estate in North Riding.

“Most retirement lifestyle developments allow residency from the age of 50. It gives people an opportunity to plan for their retirement. They can buy at today’s prices, while getting excellent capital growth of up to 12% and rental returns of up to 8%,” says Van Niekerk.

Celebration’s apartments are available from R820,000, simplex cottages from R1.77m and freestanding houses from R1.87m. Monthly rentals for units are from R6,800 for apartments, R10,500 for simplex cottages and R11,000 for freestanding houses.

GROWTH Jessica Hofmeyr, sales, rentals, marketing and operations executive at Century Property Developments, says Waterfall Estate in Midrand has seen major investment growth in all its luxury developments.

Hofmeyr says two retirement developments, Waterfall Hills and Waterfall Valley mature lifestyle estates, have seen significant increases in property value.

The launch prices for a completed home increased from R2.9m to an average of R5.9m in the past three years. “Waterfall also boasts an incredible rental return,” says Hofmeyr.

Internationally the “ultrawealthy” contingent is predicted to increase by 40% by 2022, and the superwealthy are already acquiring both secondary properties and passports — the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals now spend more than $2.4bn annually acquiring new citizenship.

HOMEFRONT PROPERTY NEWS

Lagoon the centrepiece of Pretoria complex

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retoria residential development The Blyde — which includes a centrepiece lagoon — officially opened in Pretoria this month.

Balwin Properties Limited set up the amenity in partnership with Crystal Lagoons. It has clear water set in white beach sand.

Any type of water can

be used — Crystal Lagoons regional director Alastair Sinclair says groundwater, salt water and even brackish water are suitable.

“Microfilm technology can reduce evaporation by up to 50%, which means that the lagoon does not have to be frequently topped up.

“In some areas rainwater alone fulfils these

requirements,” says Sinclair.

A typical lagoon uses 30 times less water than a standard golf course.

The filtration system consumes only 2% of the energy required by conventional systems.

Other features at The Blyde include a lifestyle centre, restaurant, gym, spa and sports fields.

Recession pep talk for buyers and sellers

A

s SA enters another recession, property buyers and sellers are being advised that they need to adjust to market realities.

“It is important for consumers, sellers and buyers to filter out the noise and misinformation and focus on facts, including that nobody is coming to take your house,” says Seeff Property Group chairman Samuel Seeff. “It is still safe to invest in property.”

While the property

market is in a downward trend, Seeff says that it is by no means the worst market that he has seen during more than 30 years in property, and nowhere near the lows of the 2008 global financial crisis.

“Banks are still lending and home loans granted are in fact up year on year,” he says.

Pam Golding Properties CEO Andrew Golding says it is certainly not all doom and gloom, citing a young demographic eager to buy property and a financial

sector with an appetite to extend mortgages.

RealNet Holdings MD Gerhard Kotzé says there is still high demand in entry-level markets.

He says positive house price growth in the under-R900,000 price bracket is “largely due to banks being more willing to lend to firsttime home buyers”.

“There is no doubt that the buyers’ market is here to stay for the rest of this year and perhaps well into next year,” says Seeff.

Convenience shopping for Century City

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2,500m2 convenience shopping centre near the Curro School in Cape Town’s Century City is expected to be up and running by May 2019.

Anchored by a gourmet Spar store, the Century Village Shopping Centre

will include restaurants, coffee shops and a range of speciality line shops.

It will have about 100 open parking bays.

Developed by Rabie Property Group, the centre is designed by Bam Architects and will be built

by Big Ben Construction.

It is to be built at a cost of about R80m on the existing e-parking site opposite The Estuaries Office Park and bordered by Curro and The Terraces residential development. Motorists who use the e-parking facility will be moved to other e-parking sites in Century City.

Huge Durban project to break ground

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he path has been cleared for construction to begin on the 2,000ha mixed-use Ntshongweni Urban Development near Durban. Ground should be broken in Q1 2019.

The development is 30km from the Port of Durban on the N3 highway.

With KwaNdengezi and Dassenhoek to the south, Summerveld to the west and Assagay and Hillcrest to the north, the precinct is expected to unlock significant economic

activity for the city’s largely underserviced outer west subregion.

Tongaat Hulett is responsible for the overall development vision and concept framework plan. The project is expected to create 19,000 construction jobs in its first phase — the urban and retail core. This will include road upgrades.

Tongaat Hulett says Ntshongweni’s prime location on the N3 link between Durban and the economic heartland

of Gauteng will bring substantial economic benefits, especially from the logistics sector.

About 1,000ha of open space is allocated for recreational use.

“The area is well known for its outdoor pastimes, with a strong horse riding, trail running and cycling community. We aim to enhance these activities for established and new communities to enjoy,” says Tongaat Hulett Developments MD Michael Deighton.

Cape estate racks up sales

S

itari Country Estate outside Somerset West is one of SA’s leading estates in terms of sales numbers and value.

The estate is ranked among the top two fastestselling large-scale estates in the Western Cape, with close to 900 sales achieved in 47 months, totalling just short of R1.2bn in value.

“Sitari is growing rapidly and this is reflected in the growing sales, which now

average 19 transactions a month,” says Uvest Property Sales executive director Claudius Combrinck.

Eight apartment schemes and more than 80 homes are under construction.

“With 1,452 homes and 177 sectional title units already occupied, we have about 700 people now living in Sitari,” says Combrinck.

Estate drawcards include a Curro Sitari school and a 12,500m 2 gross leasable

area shopping centre with a variety of flagship stores set to open during 2019.

Sitari’s property portfolio caters for a range of buyers, investors and permanent residents. Combrinck says a unique plot-andplan concept — The Residences — provides purchaser flexibility and attractive pricing options.

Sitari also has rental opportunities available in apartments and homes.