Nicola Jenvey

KwaZulu-Natal Correspondent

STANDARD Bank will construct a R275m regional head office in the Kingsmead office park in a move that consolidates its scattered corporate facilities around the city and affirms the bank’s commitment to the rejuvenation of the Durban central business district (CBD).

The Kingsmead office park, established around the existing provincial cricket grounds, forms part of the eThekwini municipality’s urban development zone. It offers companies seeking to relocate from the traditional CBD an alternative to moving to the Umhlanga ridge.

Standard Bank has acquired about 42% of the Kingsmead office park from the municipality in a R8,6m deal brokered by Marriott Corporate Property. Construction of the R266m complex began last month and is expected to be completed by next October.

Standard Bank provincial director in KwaZulu-Natal and the coastal provinces, Mpumzi Pupuma, says the bank has been an integral part of the KwaZulu-Natal landscape for the past 142 years, and as bankers to the province remained committed to the development and upliftment of the region.

The new complex forms part of the urban development zone and therefore qualifies for tax rebates.

He says the existing head office in Standard Bank House no longer satisfies the operational needs of the bank. The new development will accommodate most of the bank’s business units currently based in a number of buildings in the greater Durban area.

The new three-storey building will house about 950 staff and comprised 14731m² of office space. In addition to the main office building, there will be a separate two-storey branch. Both buildings will be on top of a single basement with space for 586 parking bays. There were also 150 open parking bays, solving the bank’s parking problem.

Ethekwini deputy mayor Logie Naidoo welcomed the investment, saying it would be a shot in the arm for the local economy.

The council sees the development as an indication of investor confidence in Durban that augurs well for the future, he says.

"This new investment fits into our plan of urban regeneration undertaken by the city," he says.