Construction of a massive R1,7bn industrial estate in Lanseria is set to begin in the next two months.
Lanseria Corporate Estate — which is being developed by a consortium of investors, one of which is New Property Ventures — will cover 90ha and is a response to the severe shortage of industrial property and industrial-zoned land in the marketplace.John Whall, a director of Montagu Commercial Developments, the company marketing the development, says Lanseria Corporate Estate will provide 169 industrial stands varying in size from 3500m² to 7300m².
Whall says the site is “very well located and is right next to the Lanseria Airport”.
“It has good access from highways. We are also going to create an environment that is pleasant to work in, with a lot of landscaping, which ordinarily is not included in industrial parks.”
Whall says there has been a lot of residential development in the Lanseria area and that a lot of owners of medium-sized businesses live in the area. “They will now be able to have businesses much closer to their homes.”
He says there is a major shortage of industrial space and zoned, serviced land and that this has been confirmed by the strong interest in the stands.
“We just started marketing and the advertising boards have been up for two weeks. Already there are 40 signed deals.”
Whall says the development will be officially launched tomorrow.
The industrial estate is aimed at distribution businesses and light manufacturing concerns, he says.
The estate will be sold in phases. The 40 stands that have already been acquired will be phases one and two of the development.
The unit owners in phases one and two will start taking transfer of their units towards the third quarter of next year.
“The entire development is expected to be rolled out over three to five years,” says Whall.
But David Green, MD of commercial and industrial property brokers Pace Property Group, says that careful consideration needs to be given to the infrastructure in the Lanseria area.
“Many landowners in the area are experiencing considerable difficulty in obtaining sufficient electrical supply to their developments, although it is anticipated that electrical supplies for commercial use will be available in 12 months.”
Green says the traffic infrastructure in the Lanseria area also needs to be upgraded as the “current access routes are generally single lane and are subject to heavy traffic flows”.
He believes these heavy traffic flows will continue to grow because of the growth of the residential populations north of Lanseria, particularly in the Hartbeespoort area.
But Green says there is “no doubt” that the demand for industrial space exists in the Lanseria area.
“It is a great growth node and once the infrastructural difficulties are overcome, the area should be particularly successful for industrial and commercial purposes.”
Whall says Lanseria Corporate Estate falls within the “urban edge” as defined by local authorities. “This means that we do have services to the site.”
He says the R512 road that passes the Lanseria Corporate Estate is to be upgraded to a double-carriage highway by 2010.
“The big advantage to this site is that we do have the services and we’ve got the electricity and it’s all there.”
Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
