SECTIONAL title schemes that have proved so popular in residential property are increasingly being extended to the commercial sector giving smaller investors the chance to own A-grade offices.
A joint venture by property developer Bryprop and Barrow Properties will boost this trend, with two 3100m² office blocks in the Pinewood office park at Woodmead, north of Johannesburg.
The development is divided into two phases and construction of the first phase is scheduled to begin early next year, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of next year.
Phase two will be demand driven.
Called Pinewood Square, the building will provide 31 sectional title office units, ranging from a smallest size of 60m² up to 155m². The cheapest unit will be priced at about R350000.
Barrow Properties director Paul Barrow says the development is targeted at three classes of investor.
The first are individuals with extra cash who would traditionally be investing in townhouses. The development offers them an opportunity to invest in A-grade office development.
The second are owner-occupiers. These will be mainly medium-sized businesses which have been operating from 'backyards' and now want to move to an upmarket office environment to boost their corporate identity.
Barrow says this market has been neglected in the past. Traditionally, such seekers of smaller office space have been squashed in obscure corners within large buildings.
Barrow says the third target market will be straight renters. This business would enhance the developers' returns, as the difference between selling a vacant office and an occupied one is significant. Pinewood Square will include basement and shaded parking and a coffee shop on the ground floor. Each office suite is self contained, with its own toilet, kitchen and terrace.
Barrow says the office offers easy access from highways, with particularly good exposure to the M1.
He says Woodmead has emerged as the premier suburb for offices. The first phase of Pinewood Square will be the seventh office block within the Pinewood park, which has drawn interest mainly from information technology companies