Construction World April 2020

to oversee my other property, I had driven past the original building and noticed the rapid turnover of retail tenants. I often wondered if the building would have been better suited to a different use,” says 6ODYD ̸6R ZKHQ WKH EXLOGLQJ FDPH XS IRU VDOH LQ , VDZ WKLV DV an investment opportunity; to buy the building and convert it to a full UHVLGHQWLDO UHQWDO EXLOGLQJ , FRQWDFWHG 78+) IRU SURSHUW\ ͤQDQFH DV I knew this was exactly the kind of inner-city property project that TUHF has the appetite to invest in. “We had spoken to Leroy before about similar opportunities and were thrilled when this project met our criteria so that we could move forward,” says Khumbulani Chikomo from TUHF. “Leroy knows the Boksburg inner city, has demonstrated his property management skills and has a good track record of providing good customer service and maintaining his properties well.” 78+) SURYLGHG ͤQDQFLQJ WR WKH YDOXH RI 5 PLOOLRQ IRU purchase of the property as well as construction, refurbishment and professional fees to complete the conversion in full. The retail ͥRRU KDG WR EH FRQYHUWHG WR FUHDWH UHVLGHQWLDO XQLWV DQG WKH RULJLQDO UHVLGHQWLDO XQLWV KDG WR EH UHFRQͤJXUHG IURP ODUJH P 2 units to smaller units of various sizes in order to increase capacity and ensure maximum impact. “The experience of working with TUHF has been great,” says Slava. “I rent out and manage a few smaller properties, but this was P\ ͤUVW FRQYHUVLRQ GHYHORSPHQW SURMHFW DQG SURSHUW\ RI WKLV VFDOH so it was a real learning opportunity for me too, and the team from TUHF was very supportive and helpful.” “They went above and beyond, not just in terms of helping to HVWDEOLVK ͤQDQFLDO IHDVLELOLW\ EXW DOVR LQ WHUPV RI DGYLVLQJ RQ ULVN management and recommending service providers. In particular, WKH VHUYLFH SURYLGHUV WKDW 78+) UHFRPPHQGHG ̰ ZHUH D SOHDVXUH

to work with.” The building not only showed promise to be economically sustainable but fully meets TUHF’s vision of achieving ‘impact through scale’. Besides the Municipality’s Customer Care Centre, the building is situated close to the Boksburg Public Library, two schools, retail facilities, several local businesses and one of &ROJDWH 3DOPROLYH̵V VDWHOOLWH RͦFHV 7KLV PDNHV LW LGHDOO\ ORFDWHG to have a positive impact on the area and provide good quality residential space with access to all the necessary amenities. 7KH QHZO\ UHQRYDWHG #)RXUWHHQWK FRQVLVWV RI UHVLGHQWLDO units, ranging from bachelor studios to 2-bedroom apartments. The refurbishment was completed recently and opened for tenanting LQ WKH ͤUVW ZHHN RI )HEUXDU\ ̰ DQG 6ODYD DV WKH RZQHU DQG ODQGORUG LV FRQͤGHQW WKDW WKH QHZ #)RXUWHHQWK ZLOO RIIHU D JRRG return on investment. “I’m especially proud of the fact that I received an invitation to HQWHU WKH ,QYHVWRU RI WKH

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD APRIL 2020