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HOMEFRONT 13 OCTOBER 2016 WWW.BDLIVE.CO.ZA WWW.BUSINESSLIVE.CO.ZA 5 NOVEMBER 2021
MUST-READ
Come home to spaciousness PAGE 2
Glorious gardens of the Cape PAGE 4
How to invest in townships PAGE 6
Estate grows around a school PAGE 6
The only way to live … For Steyn City homeowners, enjoying the new 300m lagoon means every day feels like a holiday. With different developer home types to choose from, including apartments, clusters, and freehold stands to build their dream home – it’s the ultimate in lifestyle living.
PARADISE FOUND 104 on Creek resort-style apartments at Steyn City offer everything you desire – and more. Get your adrenaline pumping on the 50km mountain bike trail or jog on the 45km promenade. Play a round of golf on our Nicklaus design championship course nestled in our 2000 acres of indigenous parkland. This piece of paradise has 24/7 security to provide peace of mind while you enjoy all the amenities you could ever wish for.
www.steyncity.co.za
RESORT STYLE APARTMENTS from R2.9m sTANDS from R4.5M
FOCUS ON: STEYN CITY’S CITY CENTRE ADVERTORIAL
The luxury of time Two-bedroom duplex luxury apartment
The many spaciously designed homes and amenities set in an expansive, secure parkland make the new City Centre at Steyn City a place to spend time on the things that matter most WORDS AND PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
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ime is priceless. For many of us, time is the ultimate luxury. After all, it is one of the invaluable things money can’t buy. While Steyn City’s City Centre might not be able to manufacture those extra hours, the entire development has been designed around the kind of convenience that helps you save many valuable hours.
ROOM TO ROAM Take City Centre’s apartments, for example. The lock-up-and-go lifestyle is an ideal for many, but City Centre makes it a reality with more than 700 beautifully appointed apartments, for the ultimate maintenance-free life without compromising on
Four-bedroom duplex luxury apartment with internal lift
space. Rooms large enough to fit a king size bed (with space left over) and high ceilings give you a sense of spaciousness and freedom, while Steyn City’s famous 2,000 acre parkland provides endless space to connect with nature, to explore and for children to play – while never having to mow the lawn or clear the leaves from the pool. Knowing that there is nothing to worry about from a security perspective is an enormous stress-saver, too. Steyn City’s security measures are cutting edge, ranging from 24-hour foot patrols and perimeter security to a fully equipped 24/7 security nerve hub. The City Centre enhances these measures even further with its own triple biometric access system.
ON YOUR DOORSTEP The development also saves time by eliminating office commutes and “mom’s taxi” schedules. It has its on-site Steyn City School campus, accommodating pupils from Grades 000 to matric. Children can ride their bikes to school without ever crossing a main road, and Steyn City’s AAAgrade offices at Capital Park are on-site too. Then there are Steyn City’s amenities, all of which may be accessed by residents of the City Centre – so varied, that no matter what your interest, you can pursue your favourite leisure activity without venturing far from the front door. Golf, horse riding, fishing, gym, swimming,
running on the 50km floodlit promenade or cycling on the exciting 50km MTB track – it’s all there for you.
EAT OUT, IN When it comes to convenience, City Centre has you covered. Don’t feel like cooking? Steyn City has several different eateries, dishing up according to your mood – try the XIX (Nineteen) Restaurant at the clubhouse for fine dining, opt for The Terrace’s more casual menu or try The Deli for pizzas or light meals – they’ll even deliver to your door. You can also grab on-thego coffees and snacks from Seattle Coffee Company, which recently opened an outlet in the north piazza – and, over time, the treed piazzas, which are a signature of City Centre’s design, will be lined with bustling restaurants and bespoke retail outlets.
TIME FLIES Need to get somewhere in a hurry? The Ultimate Helistop is waiting to fly you wherever you need to go, whether that’s your next meeting or weekend getaway. The City Centre’s accent on making life easy extends to keeping children active, too. The parkland offers play nodes and a Dino Park for little ones, a Skate Park for teens – and the showstopper, the recently opened 300m Lagoon. Only a step away from City Centre, water slides, volleyball, pedalos, SUP boarding and kayaking are just a few of the waterbased activities providing endless hours of fun. Or choose to do nothing more than enjoy a icy gelato or your favourite beverage from the Laguna kiosk.
Penthouse
GET IN TOUCH City Centre, where every day is extraordinary Prices range from R2.3m to R35m To book an exclusive viewing, contact 010 597 1170 or email ccsales@steyncity.co.za or visit www.steyncity.co.za One-bedroom luxury apartment
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EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Atlehang Ramathesele Designer: Samantha Durand
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PUBLICATION ADVERTISING SALES Chantelle Balsdon
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084 061 7888
R E S E RV E D PA R K I N G F O R YO U R CARS, HORSES AND CHOPPER. Secure luxury apartment living.
At City Centre, you’ll find everything you need to make every day extraordinary. Play a round of golf on a course designed by one of the world’s greatest golfers. Take the horses out for a ride to explore the breathtaking scenery. Or if you’d rather go out for the day, enjoy a coffee in our Ultimate Helistop’s executive lounge while your pilot brings the chopper around. This is City Centre, the apex of secure, luxury apartment living.
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Apartments from R2.3m up to R35m. Visit www.steyncity.co.za to book your exclusive viewing.
HOMEFRONT LIFESTYLE
Picture-perfect green spaces If you don’t have your own garden, here’s a reminder that our country has no shortage of lush, enchanting outdoor spaces to enjoy. We look at what’s on offer in the Cape WORDS AND PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
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o make it easier for you to take an inspiring photo, the free gardening app Candide has put together a list of some of the most Instagrammable green spaces and gardens in SA. So, get a few friends and a picnic together, grab your phone and capture some perfect moments in these delightful green spaces. Here are our favourites in the Cape.
THE BOOMSLANG: KIRSTENBOSCH CENTENARY TREE CANOPY WALKWAY
THE CHART FARM ROSE GARDEN (WYNBERG) Why here? There are roses galore in all colours Who knew there is a historic farm in Cape Town’s southern suburb of Wynberg? This farm-style retreat is a little gem of more than 12ha with an abundance of all things beautiful – the prettiest being the famous rose garden, which is possibly the main attraction for social media butterflies. Here you will find more than 500 rose bushes, some dating back to the 1900s, with newer varieties planted two years ago. You are advised to stop and smell the roses, including the Double Delight, Esther Geldenhuys, Blue Moon, Garden Princess, Garden Queen, Johannesburg Sun and Duftwolke varieties, all while soaking up the sunshine.
NORVAL FOUNDATION (STEENBERG) Why here? You can join the antics of the Holderstebolder
Why here? It’s where you’ll find the Boomslang walkway One of the star attractions in the popular Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, set against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, is the Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway, a curved steel and timber bridge inspired by a snake skeleton (which is why it’s often called the Boomslang, after the agile green snake). It winds through and over the trees of the Arboretum and is a spectacular walk, especially in terms of views across the treetops.
STELLENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDEN Why here? You’ll see orchids in glasshouses
There are many inspiring photo opportunities in the gardens here, such as the quirky Holderstebolder boulder man, a creation by sculptor Angus Taylor. The catapulting figure – buttocks in the air, arms and legs stretched out – looks like he is about to roll down the hill. This “interactive antimonument” can be found in the play area of the Norval Foundation Museum.
DYLAN LEWIS SCULPTURE GARDEN (STELLENBOSCH) Why here? The sculptures and gardens
Stellenbosch is home to some of the most beautifully curated gardens offering everything from miniature bonsai trees to lusciously tall bamboos. Here you will find the prominent “gian” bamboo, which is not native to SA but has been accepted as a naturalised species since its introduction into the country during the 1600s. Follow the Bamboo Trail for great picture-taking opportunities and especially look out for the giant water lilies and redwood trees.
A visit to the Sculpture Garden is a special visual experience where more than 60 sculptures by this worldrenowned artist are set along a 4km path in a garden that has been created intuitively. Here sculptures seem to “gather” in specific areas as the garden evolved over time, rather than being placed according to a plan. Please note that visits to the garden are by appointment only. A privately guided tour can be arranged with advance booking and is recommended.
THE CHAPEL AT BOSJES (WORCESTER)
BABYLONSTOREN (KLAPMUTS)
Why here? You will see a remarkable chapel
Why here? You can get lost in a prickly pear maze
There are many reasons to visit the family farm Bosjes and the striking architecture of the chapel here is without a doubt one of them. Add the beautifully converted farm buildings, landscaped gardens, vineyards and fynbos surrounding the chapel and you won’t run out of photo opportunities. Bosjes is situated in the Breedekloof Valley at the foot of the Waaihoek and Slanghoek mountains.
A walk through the prickly pear maze here may have you imagining yourself as the famous painter Frida Kahlo in Mexico or somewhere in Central America, instead of at an old Cape Dutch farm in the Franschhoek wine valley. The maze provides abundant opportunities for striking cacti as photo backdrops and apart from the prickly pears in the maze, there are 11 more varieties on the farm. The Candide app has a wealth of information on gardens and green-inspired destinations to visit around SA. You can download Candide from the Apple App and Google Play stores.
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HOMEFRONT PROPERTY NEWS
Townships see backrooms boom C
ontinued investment and development in townships sees these areas increasingly becoming sites for innovation and commerce. The property market is also experiencing an uptick in the residential and commercial sectors here. Backrooms, which are typically bachelor or studio apartments in a landowner’s backyard, are pervasive in townships. It is a viable and thriving market, especially as management and systems for the building and rental operation thereof continues to be optimised. It empowers landowners to use their backyards effectively and facilitates the process for tenants. A key concern in the affordable housing and informal human settlement sector in SA is that people whose income is too high to qualify for subsidised housing, yet still not enough to afford property in the private market, are overlooked. This often results in people remaining in unsafe and insecure housing, without the prospect of building up.
HELPING HAND Nhlanhla Ndlovu, founder and director of Hustlenomics, a social enterprise that focuses on creating sustainable housing solutions in townships, addresses these issues. Hustlenomics replaces backyard shacks with safer durable units that have electricity and running water. Furthermore, the cost to build the backrooms is paid off through rental income once the unit is complete, effectively making the construction thereof free for homeowners. Once the unit is paid off, ownership of the unit is returned to the landowner for them to rent out themselves, which empowers those who don’t typically have access to traditional capital. The structures are made with sustainable materials and by using alternative interlocking brick technology.
INVESTMENT LOANS Indlu Living is a property portal that predominantly
operates via an app that allows users to upgrade or build such properties. Focusing on backyard properties, their portal allows landowners to manage rental units and tenants. “We enable access to finance, and part of our services is acting as an intermediary,” says CEO Cobus Truter. “We also facilitate and fund the construction for potential landlords to help them build something that is feasible.” In a nutshell, Indlu Living finances backrooms for landowners who battle to do it themselves. They assist them with loans to design and build the backrooms and then link them with potential clients. The loan is then repaid with the income from tenants. Indlu Living has developed about 1,000 properties with no sign of slowing down as they handle the financing, rental management, design and loan book management. Investing in backrooms is especially popular and
lucrative as a first step on the property ladder. An alternative is to buy property or backrooms and use Indlu’s functions for management and payment collection. “The market is very big. There is a lot to be done in terms of compliance and bylaws to bring the backyard properties into the forefront and create more capital flow,” says Truter.
DO IT YOURSELF Boitumelo Khuzwayo, a property enthusiast and aspiring developer, has found a way to optimise the backroom market in townships. Currently targeting areas in the East Rand such as Phumula in Leondale, she is creating backroom compounds by targeting properties that have building space to add more rooms and letting them out to multiple tenants. “Investing in property can be very capital intensive, particularly in the suburbs,” she says. “The risk is higher when you’re relying on one tenant whereas multiple tenants
An Indlu backroom project in Tembisa diversify your risk. The amounts for backrooms are smaller, so you can handle potential shortfalls better.” Khuzwayo also says it is easier to find tenants as the rent is affordable.
Her latest project entailed converting a three-room property, consisting of a living room, bedroom and bathroom, into a fully-fledged backroom complex by adding rooms
to the property with a shared paved yard, tiling and plumbing. Some of the rooms have en-suite bathrooms whereas others share a common bathroom. “I also offer a place
where people can do their laundry on site, ensuring a vibrant coliving situation. This is about helping people transition out of shacks comfortably,” she says.
Short-term letting gets the festive season green light T
The Curro Durbanville High School campus
New Cape estate
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abie Property Group and Trinity Projects recently launched Wheatfields Estate, a collection of distinctively designed homes centered around a new education hub. The Wheatfields Estate project was set in motion in 2015 when Rabie Property Group, Curro Holdings and Trinity Projects joined forces to acquire and develop a section of prime land on the Groot Phesantekraal farm in Durbanville. The vision was to create a sustainable development framework plan, which would incorporate a residential estate centered around a secondary and tertiary education hub – catalysts of a new suburb in Durbanville called Groot Phesantekraal Estate. The new suburb will also include a shopping mall, offices, retail and further residential developments. The construction of the new Curro Durbanville High School campus is already far advanced.
Moving from their current Sonstraal location, the new state-of-the-art campus will be opening its doors on the new estate in time for the January 2022 intake with about 900 pupils. “We are very excited about the construction of our new campus. After a challenging 2020 and 2021, brought about by the pandemic, our new campus is certainly something to celebrate,” says Dirk van Zyl, Curro Durbanville’s executive head. “Curro Durbanville has grown from humble beginnings to become a solid education foundation for the Durbanville community and surrounds, and we’re looking forward to what we feel is a trailblazing next step in South African education.” A Stadio Higher Education Campus (a private university) will be constructed on the site opposite Curro soon.
SECURE LIVING Rabie’s director Colin Green says the symbiotic
relationship between Wheatfields Estate and Curro is ideal. “With open spaces, secure living adjacent to a green belt and access to world-class education and facilities, this hub is not only well-suited for families, but for anyone who enjoys the space and sense of community that Durbanville offers.”
UNIQUE DESIGN Wheatfields Estate is a 5.4ha security estate, which ultimately will consist of 152 designer homes. The developers have a phased marketing and construction approach. The first phase to be released will have 15 homes, which includes double-storey and single-storey homes. Each home is uniquely designed in accordance with its positioning and layout, says Erik Joubert, MD of Trinity Projects. “Here, you can make the most of indoor-outdoor living where spacious
homes lead to exclusive gardens,” he says. Low ‘werf’ walls separate individual gardens from the estate’s landscaped verges, creating a harmonious sense of community.
he recent news of SA being removed from the red list – a country particularly at high-risk for new and emerging strains of coronavirus could spell a tourism influx over the festive season, particularly from UK residents. Google reported a notably visible spike in flight searches to SA following the status change and the removal of the mandatory, costly hotel 10-day quarantine. Grant Smee, CEO of Frankie Bells Real Estate and property entrepreneur, says this could have a positive effect on the embattled short-term rental market, which has struggled to make ends meet since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Airbnbs and other shortterm rentals experienced a significant decrease in demand over the past 18
months and the sector sees the reopening of leisure travel as a muchneeded lifeline,” he says.
LONGER STAYS Coastal areas such as George, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Ballito and the Atlantic seaboard are expected to be most popular. “At this stage, flights out of the UK are still limited and expensive but we’re seeing a demand for large coastal homes to accommodate families over the festive season,” he says. “We also can’t rule out Mpumalanga as a sought-after tourist destination with easy access to the Kruger Park and other private reserves.” According to Smee, the exchange rate and the price many are willing to pay to see their loved ones after almost two years should also be considered. “Rather than opting for a
LIFESTYLE FOCUS Wide internal roads, demarcated pedestrian and cycling lanes, with pocket play parks and architecturally designed landscaping, and the ease of extending into the outdoors, encourage a healthy lifestyle, says Joubert. Double-storey homes ranging in size from 163m² are priced from R2.65m and single-storey homes ranging in size from 189m² sell from R3.35m. All houses will have exclusive gardens and double garages and purchasers can choose from an architect’s selection of finishes. Wheatfields Estate will be developed on a turnkey basis, which entails transfer on the completion of the home.
Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal north coast
short trip, many visitors have their sights set on rentals of around one month in coastal areas. These rental properties offer three bedrooms and more to accommodate large family reunions,” he says.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS And while local lockdowns over the festive season are possible, Smee believes the hospitality and tourism sector will be accommodated over this period. “The sector has faced fatal blows since the onset of the pandemic and the reopening of borders for leisure travel to SA is vital.” Smee anticipates a demand for coastal home purchases by international investors. “Home prices are at an all-time low and investors visiting the country will be looking around for great
Grant Smee, CEO of Frankie Bells Real Estate deals on a holiday home or home to rent out.” Australia, home to many South African expats, will hopefully open international borders for residents to travel soon. Smee says that this too could generate great demand for residential property.
A HOME FOR EVERYONE Conveniently situated close to Lanseria in Nooitgedacht, Country Gardens Estate is shaking up the housing market with its design-forward modular timber homes set in a picturesque estate. Not only are the homes available for an affordable price tag, but they’re eco-friendly and completely off-the-grid.
FROM
R935 000
The homes come in three basic models: Model M – 89m² From R935 000 | Model L – 122m² From R 1 250 000 Model XL – 155m² From R1 525 000
AFFORDABLE | MODULAR CONSTRUCTION MADE FROM 100% TIMBER | OFF-THE-GRID LIVING
SHOWHOUSES AVAILABLE TO VIEW FROM 31ST OCTOBER! VISIT THE WEBSITE TO REGISTER FOR THE OPEN DAY VIEWING. ON SHOW 12-5PM 125 R114, Krugersdorp | Nooitgedacht, Mogale City, Gauteng | GPS: -26.002399,27.919737 Email: info@countr ygardens.estate | Cell: +27 (83) 267 5966 | Office: +27 (63) 366 0825 | www.countr ygardens.estate