"Our loan will fund the construction, infrastructure and marketing costs for phase one of Nooitgedacht Village. It's a great investment in a prime location offering a comprehensive mixed use development in the heart of the winelands," says Richard Thomas, regional executive: Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, Cape.
Koelpark is represented by the Wirth family which has owned the Nooitgedacht Wine Farm in Stellenbosch since 1924. The Wirth family bought the subject property adjacent to their wine farm in 1989 and completed the bulk services on the subject property, which included roads, water, sewerage and electricity.
The property forms part of the Koelenhof Hamlet and a total of 196,000m² of new rezoning rights have been awarded including business, residential, industrial and open space. The basket of rights awarded will allow them to develop an expansive, fully integrated lifestyle estate among the vineyards with boutique shops, offices, lifestyle facilities, an equestrian centre, a wine boutique, bakery and retirement village. Phase one is almost sold out and phase two will be launched shortly.
Managing director Werner Wirth, and attorney Gerhardt Jooste are consulting on behalf of the company and developing the property. Jooste is a well-known and experienced player in the property industry who co-founded property development company Atterbury Cape and has been personally involved in the planning and completion of Kanonberg Estate, La Verona, Bella Rosa, Greenville, Admiral Island, Somerset Value Mart and Tygerberg Office Park to name a few. Jooste then started Prosperito which has been involved in the development of Swellenmark Shopping Centre, The Grand Grahamstown, Bloomingdales Office Park, Fountains Mall, Rosehill Mall and recently Kenako Mall in Port Elizabeth.
Thomas continues: "The development has an accompanying positive corporate social investment (CSI) element whereby 350 people who were living as informal settlers on the property have been relocated and their lives radically uplifted in the process. Before moving, 86 families were living in 50 structures with no sanitation or electricity and minimal water points. The Fritz Wirth Trust and the Koelpark Community Initiative have focused on finding suitable solutions for the disadvantaged community in terms of housing, skills development and job creation to ultimately create a better standard of living for the group.
"Koelpark purchased land that the community identified in Klapmuts that is located conveniently close to all amenities. Each of the families was granted a building subsidy from the government and subsequently 99 houses were built. All the families have moved into their new homes. There is also an established feeding scheme for the children, which is supported by all the owners of the farms in the area."
"Nedbank is proud to be associated with such an expansive development as Nooitgedacht Village as well as the accompanying CSI factor that has had a positive impact and is directly transforming lives. CSI is a non-negotiable business and ethical imperative for Nedbank and we are acutely aware of our responsibility to contribute towards uplifting the lives of disadvantaged communities in South Africa.
A strong partnership such as this between Nedbank and Koelpark underscores the fact that we remain the market leader in the commercial property finance industry and continue to provide custom-fit financial solutions that benefit and empower all stakeholders," concludes Thomas.
