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Nov 25, 2005:
THOUGH developers are increasingly climbing on to the mixed-use bandwagon, incorporating residential, commercial, retail and entertainment components into one project, not all are successful in creating fully integrated live, work and play precincts.
Trendy Melrose Arch, adjacent to the M1 just off Corlett Drive, north of Johannesburg, which was sold by the Sentinel Mining Industry Retirement Fund for R1,27bn to developer Property Partners about a year ago, is probably Gauteng's best example of what a mixed-use development should be.
Gautengers will soon see another mixed-use project of similar scale take shape at Centurion (close to Irene), where developer Grand Bridge Trading is transforming 300ha of Highveld grassland into a community precinct to be known as Heritage Hill.
Though the project is still in its early phase, Heritage Hill is already setting new records for residential land prices in the area.
Pieter Engelbrecht, financial adviser to Heritage Hill, says residential stands are fetching an average R1 000/sq m, which is considerably higher than the average R700/sq m paid until now for residential stands in the most exclusive gated estates in the Pretoria and Centurion areas.
Engelbrecht says that investors are clearly prepared to pay a premium at Heritage Hill, as it offers the benefit of scale that will enable developers to create a self-sustainable live, work and play environment unmatched by traditional estate developments.
Heritage Hill will be tackled in various phases over the next seven years and incorporate a range of residential options (a total of 2 500 properties, made up of homes, townhouses and apartments), offices, retail outlets, restaurants, street cafés, parks, sporting facilities, a private school, a medical centre and a retirement village.
