Property Writer

DEVELOPMENT of Table Bay's eastern shore and its immediate hinterland have been so successful that there is now a shortage of industrial sites.

Jonty De La Porte was a founder in 1998 of the De La Porte Property Group in Milnerton and has unwavering confidence in the area's potential, having invested heavily in commercial property there.

He said his optimism was based on a fledgling Century City and some of the most under-utilised commercial and industrial land in the Cape Peninsula.

"What was not encouraging then, was the predominance of lower-middle class, poorly maintained accommodation in the residential sector, and some very ropey township development that was threatening to set the tone," he says.

"Ironically those are the two most insignificant factors in the mix right now, with the coastside suburban housing along the Koeberg stretch heading towards the million rand plus class on resale, and the Joe Slovo Park development just adding to the pleasantly colourful mix of the area."

A mark of the changes in attitude to the broad urban blend is the recent purchase by a developer of more than 20 000m2 of land neighbouring the low-cost housing area, for up-market commercial use.

The development of the former Milnerton Race Course as a luxury residential area, and fancy housing round Century City has also added to the image. Top quality commercial buildings are also making the Koeberg Road strip leading up to Montague Gardens a highly attractive locality.

"Now, significantly, there's a shortage of industrial stock in the area and in other sectors, developers are daily changing their minds about how best to utilise the most prominent of the pieces of land," said De la Porte.