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Major New Development in Sandton South Africa
By admin | March 15, 2008
A new R1,6bn mixed-use development in Johannesburg’s Sandton CBD launched recently. La Residence is being built on land that was originally earmarked to form part of Nedbank’s head office, which was erected in 2001 on half the plot located at the corner of Maude Street and Rivonia Roads. The bank began construction on the second half, starting with seven storeys of basement intended for parking, and then halted development in 2003. Revisiting the project in 2006, the bank’s Property Finance department decided to develop the land itself and brought in Belgian architect Xavier Huyberechts to design a mixed-use building. The result is an imposing architectural triumph, comprising 7 floors of commercial space and 18 floors of residential dwellings. The 152 residential apartments include 12 one-bedroomed, 36 two-bedroomed and 84 larger two-bedroomed units of up to 174 sq m. On the eighth floor, six units will have pools and roof gardens, and on the 15th floor four two-bedroomed units will have access to roof terraces, also with pools and gardens. The bank of lifts will travel non-stop directly to individual apartments and each lift will service only two apartments per floor. The units, which should be ready for occupation in the last quarter of 2010, will range in size from 114 sq m apartments priced around R3m to two sprawling three-storey luxury penthouses of 788 sq m. One of the penthouses has already been sold for R27m and negotiations are under way for the sale of the second. This effectively puts the selling price at R40k per sq m. Four smaller two-storey penthouses are priced at R14m and two of these have been sold.
Security will be state of the art, and provision has been made for the installation of whatever top of the range system is available at the time of finishing. "In this way we aren’t constraining ourselves to what is available now," says Reynolds. The design already makes provision for a sophisticated home automation system that enables residents to access lights, blinds and other in-home equipment remotely from their cellphones. Top of the range air conditioning and kitchen appliances are complemented by an above-standard sound systems, and an electronic butler system is available. "We were fortunate to be able to make use of rich materials throughout," says architect Xavier Huyberechts. "The highest quality finishes will be used and there are three styles to choose from. The building will be concentrated around an atrium and all apartments have been designed to make the most of the open space through linked rooms and open-plan layouts." Sandwiched between the residential floors and the six lower levels of office space will be a transition floor with restaurants, a wellness centre, retail facilities, concierge and butler services, and the seven basement levels will be used for parking.
The developers are encouraging sales to buyers who plan to live in, but for investors there will be a rental pool operated by a hotel consortium that will be able to offer a six percent return based on 45% occupancy.
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