New Developments in the Helderberg Property Market – area is set for growth phase

New Developments in the Helderberg Property Market – area is set for growth phase

The Helderberg is experiencing a property development boom – again.  District Mail has put together a comprehensive guide to developments for the year ahead.

This year will see digger-loaders making their way across the Helderberg landscape, tearing up land for houses, shopping malls and offices to keep pace with the region’s growth.

Three large development nodes stand out:  Paardevlei opposite Somerset Mall and Srand Golf Club, on the old AECI site, which is almost an entire town on its own; Sitari Fields along the N2, with over 3 000 residential units; and the node between Somerset West and Sir Lowry’s Pass, which continues to be filled in with residential and commercial developments.  Here we step through the detail involved in developments for the year ahead.

PAARDEVLEI:

The old AECI site next to Strand is set to be developed over the next 20 years and at the end will constitute a whole new town on its own, with 14 000 houses and 120 hectares of retail and industrial development to be completed.  The land will be developed in six phases, with the first phase between the wetlands and De Beers Avenue already under construction.

These projects have been completed or are under development:

• Two newly completed office blocks, a day clinic and private medical suites, opened at the site during 2014.
• Construction of the Busamed Private Hospital – a 100-bed hospital – is now well under way and it I due to open later this year.
• Construction of a new coffee shop and restaurant is under way near the <ai Day Spa.  There will also be offices available for rent in this complex.
• Planning is under way for a further 5 000m² of office space.
• Planning is also well under way for Paardevlei’s first residential development – a complex of upmarket apartments.
• Three properties earmarked for use as offices and medical suites have been sold and transfer has gone through.
• A new light industrial/office sub precinct is planned for release shortly.  It should be noted that all available space is already spoken for to be purchased or rented.
• Planning is under way on well-established and internationally recognised local artist Lionel Smit’s new studio and gallery to be constructed on site.
• Macro planning is well under way on both Precinct 2 and 3, which could release up to 800 000m² of bulk for development ( equating in size to about 80 rugby fields).

SITARI FIELDS:

Over 190 rugby field can fit into the 192 hectare Sitari Fields development, a gated village alongside the N2.  Restoration on the historic Zeekoevlei wetlands has begun and services like sewage and road works are being installed.  When completed, the development will provide 3 150 residential opportunities that will house between 6 500 and 10 000 residents.  A Curro School for 2 000 learners will open its doors in 2016.  A shopping centre of 12 500m² with a Checkers is also in the plans.  Construction of the Main Gatehouse at Sitari Country Estate due to start March 2015.  The overall value of the development is R4 billion.

PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS:

There are several private developments, especially in Somerset West, that are either in construction or about to have construction commence this year.  Many of them are situated on land between Somerset West and Sir Lowry’s Pass, along the Old Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, which will not only see plenty of residential development, but also the development of a shopping centre and a day hospital.

• De Strand (main photo of article) is situated in Strand North at 81 Mill Street. It is a R152 million development which consist of 140 apartments – with biometric entrance control, wheel chair friendly entrance doors, Wi-Fi & DSTV connectivity, emergency back-up power generator, pool, braai areas & open-air fitness centre. The show units have already been completed and is available for viewing on appointment (Piet & Maddy du Toit – 082 450 2800 / 082 412 68630 or maddy.dutoit@cch.co.za / piet.dutoit@cch.co.za )

•  Arum Estate in the Strand - located right next to the Twin Palms shopping centre -  has launched its second and last phase – 2 and 3 bedroom houses with single or double garages from R893 000 to R1 261 000. For an appointment to view, please contact Hanlie van Rensburg on 072 260 4825 or hanlie@cch.co.za.

• Somerset Lakes situated between the N2 and the Old Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, is a R1.3 billion development.  The first phase which is under construction, consists of 114 apartments.  Construction on the second phase started last year in September and will see 48 free standing double-storey townhouses being built.  The third phase will see 42 free standing three-bedroom houses being built.  The entire Somerset Lakes site is about 42ha,of which 40% will be open, recreational and green space.

• A portion of Hathersage Farm in Somerset West is set to be converted into a 28 residential unit development.  The development gained approval from the City of Cape Town.  Construction is set to begin in July or August this year.

• Croydon Olive Estate Croydon Olive Estate is located on the R102 opposite Kelderhof Country Village and directly next to the Sitari Development and features 205 stands set on 38 hectares among 10,000 olive trees ,which are commercially farmed to produce oil and olives for allocation to homeowners  and selling on the open market. The few available plots left on  offer range from R 750 000 to R 1200 000 with an average size of 612m² and houses in the range of R 2,8 mil to R6.0mil. The lifestyle center offers Home Owners the comfort of a gymnasium, function facilities and a large communal swimming pool with a jungle gym play area for kids.

• Croydon Vinyard Estate  is located on the R102   next to Croydon Olive Estate and opposite Kelderhof Country village. The estate consist of 205 stands set among quality vineyards from which well-known signature wines are produced. Home owners have the benefit of an allocation of 72 bottles of wine per annum. Plots left on offer range from R 1 200 000 up to R 1 600 000 and house sales have reached the R 5 000 000,00 mark. The estate also has a lifestyle center with a gymnasium, function facility, wine sales and large communal swimming pool for the exclusive use of the residents. (For an appointment to view both Croydon Estates, please contact Cindy Swanepoel and Koot Smit on 082 925 2960 / 083 263 0541 or cindy@cch.co.za and koot@cch.co.za )

• Kelderhof Country Village in Croydon, Somerset West already boasts 21 completed homes and a further 37 homes are under construction.  About 90 properties are still available for purchase and construction.  The estate will house around 570 families when completely built.  The Kelderhof Lifestyle centre is also under construction and is due for completion at the end of February 2015.
• The new shopping centre in Old Sir Lowry’s Ass Road – the Vergelegen Plein shopping centre – is set for completion in March this year after construction started in May last year.  Once completed, the centre will include a Checkers supermarket and Checkers Liquor outlet, as well as a pharmacy.  Woolworths has also confirmed that a stand-alone store is planned for the new centre.
• Phase four and five of The Somerset Retirement and Lifestyle Village in Old Sir Lowry’s Pass Road is in construction and 90 units at a value of R200 million are being built.  The Somerset has approval to build a total of 390 units and a health care facility and ca clubhouse.  It is valued at R750 million.
• Construction on Beachwood, a 21-unit gated village in Old Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, is set to start this year and is valued at R64 million.
• Planning for a three-theatre day hospital in Sir Lowry’s Pass Road is also in the pipeline.  This will be a privately owned hospital in the Benchmark group. 
• The construction of roads and infrastructure for further development in Old Sir Lowry’s Pass Road, that includes a hotel and commercial opportunities, starts this year.
• Fairhaven Estate, situated in Bizweni, has 250 plots for sale where buyers can build their own homes.
• Strand Gardens in Onverwacht, Strand is currently in construction and adds 31 new homes to the area.

SUBSIDISED GOVERNMENT HOUSING

• A further 151 houses will be added to Lourensia Park housing development in Somerset West (next to the Somerset Mall).  Construction for services, roads and top structures will start this year, once an application for funding from the Western Cape Government is granted.
• The 547 Morkel’s Cottage housing development in Strand still needs approval from the City of Cape Town, but construction is set to start at the end of this year.
• A draft layout for a Macassar housing development makes provision for 2 469 opportunities (top structures and serviced plots).  The City of Cape Town anticipates construction to start by early 2016.

Infrastructure:

To keep up with the fast pace of development in the Helderberg, several big infrastructure projects are being implemented.

• A 100 M l (100 000 000 litres) reservoir that will be supplied from the Steenbras Water Treatment Plant.  This reservoir will provide adequate bulk storage of potable water for the Somerset West/Gordon’s Bay area, and will therefore improve security of supply.
• Construction on the Sir Lowry’s Pass outfall sewer is set to start in 2015.  It runs from Sir Lowry’s Pass, through the Somerset West Business Park, crossed the T2 and currently stops just behind the Gants industrial area.

Construction will take the sewer across the Lourens River, along Victoria Road, across the Strand Golf course, eventually linking up with the Helderberg Coastal Sewer on the Heartlands site.

• The Trappies sewer conveys sewage from Gordon’s Bay across the Strand.  The City of Cape Town is currently working on investigation and preliminary designs for possible rehabilitation of the existing pipeline, as well as providing additional capacity for future development areas.
• The City of Cape Town is planning to upgrade the Macassar Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in Macassar to estimated value of R350 million.  Assuming a five-person household has an average consumption of 200l every day, this upgrade will accommodate another 32 000 households.
• The first phase of the Strand seawall upgrade, a R60 million project, is set to start in May this year.

Source - District Mail / Dalleen Fouche