Neighbourhood DBN - 01 October 2017

Neighbourhood 1 OCTOBER 2017

PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE

Hit the road Find out what trendy Florida Road has in store for residents and adventurous visitors, page 2

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SUBURB FOCUS: FLORIDA ROAD

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BUSINESS Q&A

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PROPERTY NEWS

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PROPERTY NEWS

1 OCTOBER 2017

Neighbourhood

Suburb focus

Florida Road Here’s what’s happening in property in the area

WORDS: ANNE SCHAUFFER IMAGES: STEPHEN PILBROUGH & MICAELA DE FREITAS

DINE OUT: • Spiga D’Oro: for contemporary Italian fare • Dropkick Murphys: for a truly Irish experience • Mozambik: for Portuguese cuisine • Butcher Boys: for mouth-watering steaks • Charlie’s Cafe and Bistro: for delicious breakfasts • LoveCoffee: for great coffee and a game of 30 Seconds • Lola’s Bistro: for locally sourced foods and craft beers

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS: • Elizabeth Gordon Gallery • Cecile and Boyd Interior Design Studio • Mitchell Park • Jameson Park • Egg Designs • African Art Gallery

SCHOOLS NEARBY: • • • • • • • •

Durban Girls’ College Clifton Preparatory Clifton College Maris Stella School Durban Preparatory High School Gordon Road Girls’ School Morningside Primary School Curro Embury College

PUBLISHED BY BLACKSTAR PROPERTY PUBLISHING Unit G04, Old Castle Brewery Bldg 6 Beach Road, Woodstock Cape Town, 087 828 0423

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or a long time now, Florida Road in Morningside has been at the heart of Durban’s entertainment world. Over the past few years, it’s been undergoing not only a facelift, but also a change of heart.

Like all popular areas, Florida Road has had its fair share of ups and downs.

Given that the road is almost an arterial route from Mitchell Park all the way down to Umgeni, it’s not only an entertainment strip, but also a busy thoroughfare. Add to that a slowly disappearing residential component as zoning changes are implemented, and an increasing commercial, retail, and hospitality component, and it’s no wonder this area is a high-energy precinct.

“Let’s go to Florida Road” has long been the suggestion for those planning a night out. The road has always had a range of superb restaurants and pubs, some with al fresco settings – from ice cream parlours to coffee shops.

Jonny Friedman, CEO, Urban Lime Properties, has big dreams for the precinct in its entirety. Urban Lime Properties is working extensively with all players – particularly the successful Urban Improvement Precincts (UIP) programme – to introduce traffic calming measures, such as reducing lanes from double to single, extending public spaces, increasing parking and installing speed bumps. The company aims to raise safety and perceptions around security.

“We’re starting with the buildings we own, then examining the public spaces and how they can be employed in a public-friendly way.

The Florida Road UIP has made great strides in cleaning up the area and promoting new ways of using public spaces with events like First Thursdays.”

His background and success stories around urban regeneration of no-go areas – from Shoreditch in east London (UK) to Bree Street in Cape Town – are legendary. Florida Road certainly wasn’t a no-go area, but it had lost its shine. Jonny has not only purchased numerous key buildings in the area (Florida Road has many beautifully restored listed buildings), but he’s repurposing many of them to fit contemporary work practices and breathing new commercial life into small offices, communal work facilities and other buildings.

CARON SMYTHE, RESIDENT

Residential property is largely in the upper part of Florida Road, mostly apartments and sectional title units.

When you live in an entertainment belt, noise is inevitable, but that upper stretch has many commercial office buildings, so other than traffic, noise dies down after 5pm.

It’s exciting to see Florida Road reenergised and the mixed-use concept being reworked to meet 21st century needs – now young entrepreneurs have a place where they can make their dreams come true.

EDITORIAL TEAM: Group Editor: Charis Le Riche charisl@yourneighbourhood.co.za Managing Editor: Molly Fitz-Patrick Senior Sub-Editor: Mlungisi Mthembu

I’ve lived here for over 10 years now, and it suits me perfectly. I walk the dog in Jameson Park, I work five minutes away from here on foot, and, being on my own, I love to be in the heart of the action.

ADVERTISING SALES: Visit yourneighbourhood.co.za or call 087 828 0423 Designers: Anja Bramley & Samantha Durand Group Online Editor: Lauren Joubert Digital Assistant: Lauren Daniels

Sales & Marketing Manager: Michèle Jones michele.jones@thecreativegroup.info Advertising: Julie Ellice kzn@yourneighbourhood.co.za Claire Liebenberg claire.liebenberg@thecreativegroup.info Production: Lucea Goosen lucea@yourneighbourhood.co.za

1 OCTOBER 2017

Neighbourhood

For sale in Morningside

PROPERTY NEWS

For rent in Morningside

Median asking prices

Median monthly asking prices

R995,000

R8,500

For a typical property (two-bedroom apartment)

R1,75m In a complex

R1,13m For an apartment

For a typical rental property (two-bedroom apartment)

R2,83m For a house

R11,725 In a complex

Property type 39% house

Monthly bond repayments For a typical property in this area

49%

R7,945 For an apartment

R16,680 For a house

Property type 19%

12%

apartment

3

You’ll pay

R9,767 per month

72%

house

complex Based on

R995,000 median asking price

9%

apartment

complex

over a period of

at

20

10,5%

years

prime

DURBAN PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL Preparing our Boys for Life From small beginnings better fortune follows.

Boys participating fully in “The Prep Experience” leave the school thoroughly prepared for the challenges of the future as strong contributors to society.

Contact details: Telephone: 031 312 2154 | Email: mailbox@dphs.co.za | Website: www.dphs.co.za

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PROPERTY NEWS

1 OCTOBER 2017

Neighbourhood

My business neighbourhood Astor House in Durban North is a warm and welcoming guesthouse that offers short- or long-term accommodation WORDS: TIVANIA MOODLEY

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

long-term accommodation upon her return to South Africa after a few years in Australia, she realised there was a gap in the market. Astor House, offering accommodation in a warm and friendly environment, was her solution.

Q: How did your business start?

A: I returned to South Africa from Australia a few years ago, and it was a challenge to find suitable accommodation. I identified the need for medium-to-long-term accommodation without the full commitment of a lease, while having the perks of a guesthouse.

Q: Why did you choose this area to set up shop?

A: A stor House is located in the upmarket suburb of Durban North. This trendy suburb is accessible by car or on foot.

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eople who travel a lot or families who’ve recently relocated to a new province can often find it difficult to cultivate a home-like atmosphere in a new and unfamiliar environment. The home-away-fromhome feel of guesthouses can make the adjustment easier. When Ramona Reddy had difficulty finding suitable

Q: How did you find your premises?

A: A stor House was an existing bed and breakfast with a focus on conferencing. Since taking over Astor House, we’ve developed the “home-away-from-home” style of accommodation, focusing on the individual needs of our guests.

Q: Why are the premises ideally suited to your business?

A: This property offers a choice of beautifully appointed rooms, stunning gardens and great facilities within a serene environment.

Q: Who are your neighbours?

A: Our neighbours are a wonderful mix of residential, commercial and retail businesses.

Q: What are the shop rental/ sales prices like in this area?

A: The rental prices lean towards the top end of the market.

Q: How many people go through your business each day?

A: Some of our guests have stayed with us over a weekend, or as long as two years.

Q: Do you have any expansion plans?

A: We’re looking at developing our extended stay accommodation footprint into new viable markets.

Q: Do you operate online as well?

A: A ll our bookings at Astor House are done digitally.

Q: What’s your most popular item?

A: If I had to choose from our guests’ feedback, I would say it’s the food.

SEE FOR YOURSELF: Astor House 031 564 6067 astorhouse.co.za

Neighbourhood

1 OCTOBER 2017

PROPERTY NEWS

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Retire well

Understand the different forms of ownership available in retirement developments WORDS: CANDICE BOTHA

IMAGE: ISTOCK

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everal new retirement developments have launched in KwaZulu-Natal recently, and options for purchasing a home within them include freehold, sectional title and life rights.

“Hibiscus Retirement Villages sells the life rights to a cottage or a flat,” says John Webster, CEO. “Life right is simply the right of occupation of a portion of a housing development scheme or village for the duration of the lifetime of the resident at no rent.

The life right payment is regarded as a deposit and, at Hibiscus Villages, is refunded in full on the death of the resident or if the resident leaves one of our facilities. A levy is payable to cover the running expenses of the village.”

Lucy Blackman, estate agent, St John’s Village Lifestyle and Retirement Estate, says that life right means there’s no purchase of actual real estate.

“Ownership of a unit is retained by the development. One merely buys a right to live in a specific unit. It’s a lifetime rental, paid in advance.”

A life right isn’t transferable and the right of occupation reverts to the development on the death of the resident or if the

resident decides to leave the facility. “An advantage of the life right ownership model is that, as the property is not sold in the same manner as other residential properties, there are no transfer fees, no commissions, no VAT and no attorney fees,” says Webster. Another advantage is that the life right village is responsible for the rates and other municipal costs.

Some retirement developments, operate under the more familiar sectional title and freehold ownership types.

“Sectional title ownership means you purchase a section, or sections, plus an undivided share of the common property, collectively known as a unit, in a sectional title scheme. Freehold or full title ownership means full ownership of the building and the land it’s built on,” says Blackman.

“It’s essential to investigate the implications of each type of ownership before you purchase. Learn the jargon about levies, exclusive use areas, participation quotas, body corporates and homeowners associations.”

Before finalising any agreement, Webster suggests checking the levy increases over recent years, finding out who owns the development and what happens to any excesses generated.

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