Asset management company Fortress Income Fund launched its 19 878 m2 Westlake View logistics park in March, further increasing the company’s warehousing and logistics development pipeline.

The company currently has a gross leasable area of about one-million square metres that spans Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Westlake View logistics park comprises 17 838 m2 of warehousing and 2 040 m2 of office space. The facility achieved practical completion in March and is ready for occupation.

Fortress director Andrew Teixeira told Engineering News at the launch that the Westlake View logistics park was an “A-grade logistics facility”, with Fm-2 flooring that can manage a 12 t point load. The floor allows for racking of up to 12 m to the underside of the pallet, owing to the flatness of the service, and can rack using cost-effective, standardised equipment. The eves height of the building are about 13.5 m.

The columns are spaced in 32 m × 32 m increments, which, Teixeira noted, reduced the number of columns by about three times, compared with older logistics facilities.

Although the column spacing increased the building costs, it provided greater flexibility and allowed for a greater number of racks to be installed, he highlighted.

The warehouse’s roof was constructed using a significant number of clear sheets, offering the building a lux level of 200 at ground level, resulting in improved energy efficiency, owing to the decreased demand for electrical lighting.

Teixeira highlighted the importance of location and proximity to key highways to ensure the efficiency of transporting goods, particularly since it effectively reduced transport costs, the most significant operating expense for logistics companies.

As such, Westlake View was strategically developed in close proximity to the London road offramp, which provides access to the N3. Teixeira said that the facility’s location had the added benefit of having access to the eastern parts of Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport without delivery vehicles needing to drive on highways, which was particularly useful when the N3 was congested.

Westlake View also has large stacking and yard areas, as well as large stands, to improve loading times and keep trucks safe.

Earthworks for the construction of the logistics park took about two months, which Teixeira pointed out was a challenging aspect of the project, owing to the significant slope on site, resulting in the construction of high retaining walls around the facility. The structure took 11 months to complete.