The Joburg Property Company (JPC), which manages the City of Johannesburg's (CoJ's) property portfolio, and Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco), have entered into a contract with private sector developers for the development of South Africa's first inclusionary housing development which will result in lower income earners living side by side with more affluent home owners, the parties said in a joint statement on Friday.

The development contract, which was signed with Crowzen (a joint venture between Crowie Projects and ZenQ), provides for the construction of 187 new dwellings on 9,3 ha of council-owned land in Fairland. The development forms part of JPC's 'Jerusalem' development precinct which includes the 13 000 m2 World Wear shopping centre opened in November 2006, and the massive 70 000 m2 Wesbank/FNB Home Loan head office, which is under construction by RMB Properties.

In terms of the agreement signed with Crowzen, 30% of the units (56) will be developed by Crowzen as "social housing” units, and will be handed over to Joshco for rental to families earning between R3 500 and R7 000 a month.

“This is a groundbreaking development. Never before in South Africa, have lower and higher income earners been incorporated into the same complex, living side by side as neighbours. This is the next step in the South African miracle,” said JPC project manager Alan Dinnie.

The units will be rented out for between R1 500 and R2 000 a month. “Beneficiaries will be selected using Joshco's allocation policy which includes giving preference to families living and working in the area of the development, “ Skhumbuzo Ndumdum of Joshco said. These will be the first social housing units developed in an upmarket suburb. “We are looking forward to many more of these types of developments,” Ndumdum added.

The housing estate will be developed at a cost of approximately R200-million.

The market-related units are expected to sell at prices of over R1,5-million. Pam Golding Properties has been appointed to market the development.

Although a number of mixed-income developments have been completed or are under way in South Africa (most notably, Cosmo City in Johannesburg), this is the first development which combines families of different economic levels into a single community.