https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Residential property developer opens lasting resting place for the dead

NASREC MEMORIAL PARK

NASREC MEMORIAL PARK

27th May 2015

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

Font size: - +

JSE-listed residential property developer Calgro M3 Holdings’ subsidiary, Calgro M3 Memorial Parks has diversified its portfolio by officially launching its first memorial park, in Nasrec, near Soweto.

This is the first development of its kind by Calgro M3 in what it said promised to fulfil a need in the community by providing a dignified last resting place for loved ones.

The company envisaged several similar developments elsewhere in the country and believed it would be able to bring a dignified experience back to burial places.

The 20 ha Nasrec Memorial Park, situated just off the Nasrec offramp on the Western Bypass, would initially accommodate 22 500 graves with the potential to add another 11 000 graves at a later stage.

“We have a specific focus on security systems, including 24-hour roaming guards. The Nasrec Memorial Park has a closed-circuit television system, electrified fencing and appropriate lighting,” highlighted Calgro M3 MD Wikus Lategan during the official opening of the park on Wednesday.

He enthused that the memorial park provided a peaceful, park-like environment with the sounds of bird song and flowing water, where families from nearby communities would come not only for funerals and to commemorate their loved ones, but also just to relax.

The site featured indigenous trees in a landscaped garden with two manmade lakes, linked by a stream.

An island was built in the bigger dam to attract birdlife. A wall of remembrance with an eternal flame was also located at the centre of the park.

The Nasrec Memorial Park would boast four chapels, the biggest accommodating 200 people but which could be extended for larger groups, and “will replace the numerous tents that create an impression of commercialisation and clutter in public cemeteries”.

Lategan said funeral directors would be permitted to make use of the facilities.

“There will be no restrictions in terms of religion, ethnicity or anything else. We will endeavour to accommodate specific cultural practices. However, owing to the special requirements of Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim communities, such burials will only be catered for in the second phase of the project,” he explained.

Lategan added that families would be encouraged to erect only headstones, rather than full tombstones for their loved ones.

“If they choose not to do so immediately, the grave site will be rehabilitated to preserve the park-like environment. In some areas, only flat tombstones will be allowed.”

He emphasised that special care had been taken with the site design, to prevent the establishment of “monotonous rows of tombstones”.

For example, some rows will be placed at an angle to complement the overall design.

“This has been carefully considered to retain the park-like experience, look and feel and to enhance tranquility,” stated Lategan.

The park was also home to the headquarters of the newly formed Calgro M3 Memorial Parks subsidiary.

SOLAR POWERED CEMETERY
“The whole site, and offices for this business, as well as subsequent memorial park developments, will be operated entirely off the electricity grid, using renewable-energy sources and generator back-up. This will contribute towards taking pressure off the already strained national grid,” Lategan pointed out.

Energy solutions provider and project consultant Matleng CEO Corrie van der Wath told Engineering News Online on the sidelines of the event that Nasrec Memorial Park used roof-mounted split solar farms across the roofs of the park’s office buildings, gatehouses and guard houses.

“The rationale for split farms is to protect against downtime. The solar panels charge, which are connected to a uninterruptible power supply Internet-enabled inverter, to convert the power back to 240 V,” he explained.

Van der Wath also pointed out that all lighting for the park was individually powered using solar lighting and each of the park’s lights worked independently, further mitigating against potential downtime.

PROJECT DETAILS
Calgro M3 has undertaken extensive research over the past three years and invested R75-million in the project since acquiring the land parcel in October 2014.

Lategan said the concept provided the opportunity for the group to better use pockets of development land, which were not suitable for residential purposes, while providing an amenity that would serve the needs of the very same community.

“This first memorial park was specifically acquired and developed independently as a pilot, to establish the concept,” he highlighted.

Additionally, Lategan said that, at the same time, the memorial park development would assist local authorities, which were increasingly struggling to provide an efficient burial service.

“Burial space is becoming scarce and public cemeteries are often targeted by criminals, while the upkeep is neglected,” he stated.

To guarantee maintenance of the memorial parks, a portion of the initial purchase price had been invested in a trust established for this purpose.

“The independently managed trust will be used to fund the upkeep and the assets will be invested to beat inflation and cover the cost of maintenance in perpetuity,” Lategan noted.

He stressed that families who would come to visit a loved one’s grave 20 years later would find the same level of dignity and security in the surroundings, as at the time that they were buried.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Array

Showroom

Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
SMS group
SMS group

At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/03/2024)
15th March 2024 By: Martin Creamer
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
Magazine round up | 15 March 2024
15th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.075 0.122s - 150pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now