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Thursday: 24 July 2003 |
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This site will be updated on: 31 July 2003 at 17:00 |
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THE light has changed from red, flashed through orange, and is now green for the R240 million shopping mall planned for Paarl South. "We are going ahead," says developer Rodney Squire-Howe of Spire Property Services Group, after the purchase contract with Tiger Foods for the Langeberg site in Cecelia Street was finally signed last week. "We would like to get the main contractor on site in Cecelia Street by early next year, once Tiger Foods has moved part of its production to other parts of the plant and demolished unused buildings." The shopping centre of 35 000 square metres is to be built on 15 hectares of the old Langeberg site between Paarl railway station and Cecelia Street, for completion in 2005. Doors opened for the project after approval by the relevant roads authorities as well as the Drakenstein Municipality, for a reconstructed access road from the N1. After proposals for an access road from the N1 ran into opposition from residents and industries in De Soete Inval and Suider Paarl last year, it was back to the drawing board for the developers. To enable road access to the Mall, the Worcester on-ramp to the N1 must now be moved to the west side of Main Street at the entrance to Paarl. The developers will have to carry the cost for the road reconstruction (including the new off-ramp at Cecelia Street), totalling an estimated R15 million. The N1 bridge over Main Street will be adapted to carry the traffic from the new on-ramp. All necessary approval has been obtained for the access road from the N1, zoning approval and site development plans have been given the go-ahead by the Drakenstein Municipality. Detailed building plans are now being prepared. Negotiations with major national retailers are now being finalised for anchor tenants in the Mall, Squire-Howe said. "We are excited that the development is finally on track and are looking at property investments in Main Street, as there will be major spin-offs from the centre, especially in Paarl South." Plans to erect a giant film studio complex in Paarl had to be ditched earlier this year, when the Tiger Foods premises were sold to the developers of the Paarl Mall. The film studio will now be developed on the Culemborg station premises in Cape Town. The plan to establish the Cape film studio in Paarl at a cost of R100 million, was the brainchild of Anton Nel, Hollywood filmmaker involved with the company Cape Town Motion Picture Studio (CTMPS). CTMPS is partaking in a bidding process for a major film studio in the Western Cape. The consortium found the Paarl premises, with its 78 000sqm of empty buildings, ideally suited to their needs. According to Nel, no additional construction would have been necessary before filming could have started. The site also offered ample space for outside shots and the construction of back lots. "We had a 30 million dollar contract for a television series that we had planned to start shooting on the Langeberg site immediately," Nel said. "But when our offer was declined, the filming moved to Australia." Tiger Brands, owners of the Tiger Foods site, decided not to accept the film company's offer, as they were in the final stages of negotiations with the developers of the shopping mall when the new offer was brought to the table. |
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Gesamentlike Alleenmandaat Sentraal R560 000 Geleë in gesogte area bokant Hoofstraat. Hierdie woning is oor 'n periode met liefde gerestoureer en verbeter. Dit bied 3 slaapkamers, 'n halwe badkamer, groot woonkamer, eetkamer wat oopplan is met gemoderniseerde kombuis, groot motorhuis. U moet kom kyk! Kontak gerus vir André Toerien by 082-579-4884 @home.properties - (021) 872-1997 |
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THE lavish gates to a newly established upmarket development, Winelands Estate, will roll open in Simondium shortly.At a cost of R300 million, the 190hectare security estate next to the historic farm Simonsvlei, is one of the biggest building projects ever undertaken in the Cape. |
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At the height of building activity, more than a thousand construction workers were on site on any given day. The low density development has a Provencal style, with thick walls, natural stone finishes in earthy tones, wooden windows and doors and is set in vineyards with lavender and herb gardens. The Winelands Hotel and Santé Wellness Centre will be operated by the Southern Sun Group and is scheduled to open in September. The ten-suite five star plus country hotel has restaurants for the residents. Also on the estate is a corporate conference centre, 14 privately owned villas and another 10 fully furnished luxury apartments. The apartments and villas, valued at R155million, was sold out off-plan within six months. Buyers were South Africa's top corporates, including Leon Vermaak (Auto & General) and GT Ferreira (FirstRand), and two international investors. Three villas are now available for re-sale from R5,2m while two apartments are on the market for R3million. Two large dams with an island and water features, wooden broadwalk and bridges, have already lured an abundance of bird life and become home to indigenous vegetation. The hi-tech conference centre is linked by a colonnaded walkway to the hotel and will accommodate 180 delegates with break-away rooms and exhibition space. Phase two will commence later this year and will comprise of an exclusive residential estate with an upmarket farm stall. This will include a gallery, a theatre, restaurant, cheesery, bakery, wine shop and olive press. Each villa is located on more than a hectare planted with vineyard, olive groves and gardens. They are fully maintained outside and offers a hassle-free farming lifestyle. Villa owners are entitled to the annual production of some 350 cases of wine from the newly established vineyards. A wine cellar with a capacity of 500 tons is to be constructed. Seventeen swimming pools are being constructed. Residents will have access to the pools, gym, saunas and jacuzzis. The emphasis of the wellness centre is on pre-emptive corporate health. The new centre boosts 100 bedrooms and 22 treatment rooms. Medical services include dental and aesthetic surgery, with full-time medical officers and physiotherapists during recuperation before and after operations, detoxification and destressing. State of the art equipment has been imported from Germany and a unique indoor swimming pool fitted with light and sound therapy. The hub of the property, the former Akarana vegetable farm, was acquired from Bruce Glazer and Dewcrisp. The Winelands Estate project is the flagship property of Original Developments (Odev), which is owned by entrepreneurs Craig Young, Eduard du Plessis and Joe Kieser. For more information, contact the Winelands Estate sales office at 875-5357. |
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BOERE in Drakenstein is erg beswaard oor die instelling van eiendomsbelasting op landbougrond. Die Drakenstein Munisipale Raad hef die belasting vanaf 1 Julie teen 'n koers van 0,0035 sent in die Rand. Meer as 100 boere het verlede week op Wellington vergader om protes aan te teken. Hulle was dit eens dat die nuwe grondbelasting nie wenslik is nie en het daarop gewys dat daar groot onsekerheid heers oor waardasies. Hulle is ook ontstoke dat hulle weens gebrekkige kommunikasie nie betyds beswaar kon aanteken teen die waardasies nie. Boere het uit die gehoor daarop gewys dat die koers van 0,0035c/R besonder hoog is in vergelyking met omliggende gebiede soos Malmesbury (0.0025c/R), Kaapstad (0,0028c/R) en Ceres (0,0018c/R). Die beswaartydperk teen die koers eindig vandag. Chris du Toit (AgriSA) en Jacques Carstens (Drakenstein Munisipale Bestuurder) het die boere toegespreek by die vergadering. Volgens Du Toit het die grondbelasting klaarblyklik nie nuwe dienste of kapitaalprojekte ten doel nie. "Die gevaar bestaan dat die Raad die addisionele inkomste bloot sal aanwend om sy groeiende skuldlas te probeer verklein. "Die Raad behoort eerder effektiwiteit van dienslewering en die vordering van betaling vir sodanige dienste te ondersoek. "Grondbelasting is 'n indirekte vorm van belasting op produksiemiddele wat 'n nadelige impak op winsgewendheid en internasionale mededingendheid sal hê." Pierre-Jeanne Gerber, grondeienaar en plaaslike LP, het hom uitgespreek teen die heffing van die belasting vanaf 1 Julie, hoewel hy dié vorm van belasting as regverdiger beskou as streekdiensteraadsheffings. "Die nasionale wetgewing is nog nie deur nie, en weens die oorhaastige implementering het baie mense te laat, of glad nie, kennis gekry van hul waardasies. Dit het die Munisipaliteit baie welwillendheid gekos." Carstens het boere die versekering gegee dat die Raad die proses "so professioneel moontlik bestuur" en dat alle stappe tot op hede geneem wettig en in terme van die ordonnansie plaasvind. "Die Raad is verbind tot die konsep van dienslewering en die Raad sal in die komende finansiële jaar spesifiek dienslewering aan boere ondersoek." Carstens het boere daarop gewys dat hul sekere dienste van die Raad, soos biblioteke, reeds benut en steeds in die toekoms sal mag benut. Een van die boere het die saak opgesom: "Mnr Carstens, jy moet nie te gou staatmaak op die geld nie, want ek moet nog my bankbestuurder daarvoor gaan vra." * Farmers held a protest meeting against property tax in Wellington. |
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BUSINESS people in Paarl East and Paarl West are dissatisfied with the Drakenstein municipal council's procrastination on the proposed urban renewal initiative in the Paarl Central Business District (CBD). Rumour has it that some businessmen have appealed to provincial leaders to try and speed up the process. Fourteen owners with 34 properties in the CBD have already signed a contract with Catalyst Property Asset Managers to facilitate a process for the urban renewal process in central Paarl. Johan Pauw, representing the developers, estimates this would mean a R200 million injection into the CBD just during phase 1. They also envisage, at their own cost, the development of a facility for informal traders as well as future development in the rest of Lady Grey Street as well as in other growth areas in Paarl, as determined by the Municipality. Council has already approved the development in principle, but the finer detail is now endangering the whole project. At a recent meeting of Pauw with the executive committee, Councillor Bokkie Claasen (NNP) gave her wholehearted support to the project wholeheartedly. "One has to be blind not to see the decay. Job creation is important - our people are eating from the rubbish bins." She urged Councillors to support the renewal as an opportunity for everyone. Councillor Deetlefs du Toit (DA) supported her and said if Council did not take this opportunity, they would have to shoulder the blame for the deterioration of Paarl: "We won't survive this one". Municipal Manager Jacques Carstens said he and his management team welcomed the initiative and supported it fully. In a report to Council, the Planning Department said urban settlements were increasingly confronted with the phenomenon of urban decay, which includes both the physical and functional deterioration of the built environment. Such conditions are usually the result of the nature of the historic "footprint" of a town which cannot cater any longer for changing times and needs. Business expands in an unplanned way into neighbouring residential areas, resulting in conflicting land uses and the relocation of residents to areas away from the CBD, with an evident decline in clientele and undesirable urban sprawl. This has led to development of suburban shopping complexes where the full range of consumer needs are concentrated with the one-stop concept. But this concept is plagued by negative impacts such as the high dependency on private motor vehicles, which mostly divorce these shopping complexes from poor communities with minimal mobility. The state of decay and ongoing deterioration of the Paarl CBD is undisputable, and if the situation is left unchecked, it should be anticipated that there is a real threat that key anchor shops will relocate, says the report. Pauw put a holistic plan for the redevelopment potential in the Paarl/Wellington area on the table, as well as a plan for Lady Grey Street. The plan includes the closure of a part of Lady Grey Street and redevelopment of the street as well as surrounding squares such as Patriot Square and Van der Lingen Square, because of the urgency to retain the anchor tenants in the area. A development on the eastern side of the river will form part of Phase 1 and some suggestions in this regard will be put to Council in the near future. Pauw requested Council to make the required land available for development and to support and expedite the speedy rezoning of such areas. He described some of the benefits for Council: In the first place 15 000 m² of new retail bulk will be created in the CBD, which will generate a huge amount of new rates and taxes. It is anticipated that as many as 1200 permanent job opportunities could result either directly or indirectly from such new business ventures. The development will also ensure that the property values of the existing CBD remains intact. The parking ratio in the CBD will, inclusive of the extensions, be more than double the current ratio. A full traffic impact assessment will be done to address all issues, at the developers' cost. The safety and security of patrons to Lady Grey Street will be addressed, while tourists will be drawn into the upgraded area. It should address most of the issues around the informal trading in Lady Grey Street. The coalition in the Council (ANC and NNP) will now formulate a uniform viewpoint on the matter, which they will then communicate to the other parties before starting to negotiate a contract between the Municipality and the developers. |
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PROPERTY AGENTS Aida 872-2161 - www.aida.co.za |
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