Construction World March 2023

PROPERTY

WATERFALL CITY CROWNED WORLD’S BEST FOR FIFTH TIME At the lavish annual ‘World’s Best’ International Property Awards ceremony held at the iconic Savoy Hotel in London on 2 February, Waterfall Management Company was awarded Best International Mixed-use Development 2022-2023 for Waterfall City.

T his is the fifth time in six years that Waterfall City has beaten formidable competitors to claim the top spot. This year’s nominees included mixed-use developments in Cyprus, Brazil, Qatar and Hong Kong. Entries were judged based on criteria ranging from design layout and quality, architecture, services and security, to innovation, originality, marketing and commitment to sustainability. Over and above scooping this prestigious international accolade, Waterfall City also garnered the regional title of Best Mixed-use Development in Africa for the eighth time. This follows Waterfall City’s recent win of being named Best Mixed-use Development in South Africa, also for the eighth time, in October 2022 in Dubai. The International Property Awards, now in their 31 st year, celebrate the very best projects and professionals in the industry across 45 residential and commercial categories. Awards are split into four sectors namely, Architecture, Development, Interior Design and Real Estate, across nine regions covering Africa, Asia Pacific, Arabia, Canada, Caribbean, Central & South America, Europe, UK and the USA. Over the past year, a panel of over 90 independent expert judges studied and assessed more than 2 000 entries from 126 countries to finally arrive at the World’s Best winners. Willie Vos, CEO of Waterfall Management Company, said; “Building a world-class smart city of this nature is certainly no small feat. It takes a concerted and cohesive effort, with all role players and stakeholders moving in unison in the same direction to realise the vision and honour the values that are fundamental to every aspect of Waterfall City. Reclaiming the title of Best International Mixed-use Development is just reward for our continued efforts and something we are extremely proud of. We are honoured to receive this international recognition which once again puts Waterfall City and South African property development on

the world stage.” Waterfall Management Company is the Property, Asset and Operational Management Company for the Waterfall City land and has been working with developers and investors since 2004, to create the largest mixed-use development in Africa. Built on the cornerstones of Connection, Commerce, Care and Community, Waterfall City has become synonymous with being the definitive lifestyle and blue-chip business destination in the heart of Gauteng. Not even half complete yet, Waterfall City still has over 1,6 million square metres of Gross Leasable Area (GLA) to be developed, ensuring future sustainable growth of this state-of-the-art smart city. By completion, it is estimated that Waterfall City will combine 28 000 residential units housing approximately 80 000 people, with about 2,5 million square metres of GLA for commercial and office space, accommodating a further 95 000 people. The current estimated developed value of Waterfall City is approximately R100b. While 24 000 people are presently employed on the development, it will have created close to 85 000 job opportunities upon completion. Waterfall City, in its entirety, is also already responsible for contributing over R700m in rates and taxes per year towards the City of Johannesburg. This figure is expected to reach over R1,5b per annum by the time the development is completed. “Each year, I am amazed by what we have been able to achieve at Waterfall City. This progress is only possible due to the commitment and hard work of a dedicated team. I am honoured to form part of this team and extend my thanks and congratulations on this award to everyone involved, including my colleagues, all our role players, partners, shareholders and individual residential investors. With big plans already set for 2023, we look forward to the year ahead and the continued success of world-class Waterfall City,” concludes Vos. 

16 CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2023