Construction World November 2015

PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS

BIGGEST development yet Atterbury Property recently launched Richmond Park – a new multi-billion rand mixed-use property development in Cape Town on a prime greenfields site in Milnerton adjacent to the N7 highway – in its biggest and most ambitious project yet in the Western Cape.

market. Besides being a catalytic project that will attract investment, this development will create jobs and skills development opportu- nities for local people.” Glass remarks: “During construction alone, some 15 000 jobs are anticipated to be created over Richmond Park’s develop- ment period. What’s also crucial is creating employment and skills development opportunities for the Richmond claimants. Currently, some 50% of the claimants are unemployed and survive off state welfare grants. We want to change this situation and see this as a socially conscious project and a catalyst for positive change.” With the commercial launch of Richmond Park, the installation of bulk services to the site is set to commence this year (2015). Following the first bulk earthworks, construc- tion of the initial top structures is planned for mid-2016, while the completion of the first buildings within the park is anticipated for the last quarter of 2016. Van den Berg reports that, even before launch, there has been strong commercial interest in the development. He points out the park’s strategic location in Milnerton, with great visibility and access to the N7 highway and other key arterial routes. “As part of the project, the developers will be investing around R150-million for surrounding road infrastructure upgrades and access to the development. “Within the Richmond Park precinct, investors and tenants can look forward to wide landscaped boulevards amongst other features that will set it apart from other business parks in the region. The precinct is also being designed to interface well with the surrounding properties and neighbourhood,” he adds.

Richmond Park will be developed on 84 ha of land as a landmark business park and mixed-use precinct consisting of retail, light industrial, commercial and warehousing property development. The property has bulk development rights of around 300 000 m 2 over the next 5-10 years. “This is certainly going to be a mega development. It will be along the lines of the Atterbury initiated Waterfall development in Gauteng, but will focus more on commercial and warehousing due to its location in Cape Town’s industrial hub of Milnerton,” says Gerrit van den Berg, Atterbury’s development manager for its Western Cape developments. “The initial 300 000 m 2 development phase of Richmond Park is anticipated to attract investment of up to R5-billion. This will make it one of the biggest new commercial developments in Cape Town and Atterbury’s biggest development yet in the Western Cape. “While Atterbury is the major share- holder, we are undertaking this development in Cape Town in association with local part- ners Bethel Property and Qubic 3 Dimen- sional Property. “This is a groundbreaking project, not only from a magnitude and concept perspec- tive, but also from a socioeconomic and community upliftment perspective. The land on which Richmond Park will be developed is part of a landmark land restitution settle- ment,” adds Van den Berg. A claim to have ownership of the land restored to its original owners in terms of the >

Restitution of Land Rights Act was approved and the land was officially transferred back to the Richmond Park Communal Property Association in December 2014. Richard Glass of Bethel Property, explains: “About 400 families were forcibly removed from this land in 1972 and resettled in Atlantis and the Cape Flats. These families today represent around 5 300 people span- ning five generations. “They finally had the land transferred back to them in December 2014 in the form of a community trust (the Richmond Park Communal Property Association).” Van den Berg adds: “Atterbury is proud to have landed the contract to develop this site and to be associated with this project. It has huge significance both as a major new commercial development in Cape Town and from a socio economic and community uplift- ment perspective, with the affected families benefiting through the community trust. “The significance of this project has been recognised by all three levels of government, from the city and province, through to the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. We appreciate their support and assistance, which has been instrumental in getting us to this point to officially launch Richmond Park to the

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“It has huge significance both as a major new commercial development in Cape Town and from a socioeconomic and community upliftment perspective, with the affected families benefiting through the community trust.”

CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2015