Property developer Abland will develop a combined motor dealership and premium office space, called Menlyn Maine Towers, in Pretoria, and aims to achieve a 4-star green rating accreditation with the Green Building Council of South Africa.

The development for the Barloworld Toyota Menlyn dealership will include a 16 000 m2 dealership, with 12 000 m2 of premium office space above the dealership, creating 15 floors in total, with potential for rooftop or penthouse offices.

The dealership is expected to start trading by August 2019, while the offices are planned to open by mid-February 2020.

“It will be an incredibly efficient and green building,” Abland marketing and leasing director Grant Silverman said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The support from the Menlyn Maine consortium has been very encouraging and this, coupled with its location and design, makes us very confident in the scheme’s success,” he added.

The new development will be on Corobay avenue, in Menlyn, and is opposite the popular retail heart of Menlyn Maine, providing occupants development access to a range of amenities, including hotels, gyms and residential units.

Recent infrastructure upgrades also ensure that motorists have easy access from both the Atterbury and Garsfontein off-ramps from the N1 freeway, Abland said.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our customers to this new state-of-the-art dealership in the future,” said Barloworld Motor Retail CE Roland Egger.

The offices will be enveloped by a seamless glass façade created under a unitised system and there will be a clear visual distinction between the dealership and office components. The dealership will have a double volume glazed façade showroom facing Corobay avenue, explains architects Boogertman and Partners director Frits Schuite.

Facet lines will be highlighted at night with light-emitting diode strip lighting installed in the glazed façade. The office floors are designed to accommodate large single and multi-tenanted options with easy access from the ground floor entrance, visitors parking area and the parking floors by four elevators.

A critical factor in the building is its sustainable energy use, which is achieved through double glazing and thermal storage, water harvesting and energy efficient electrical installations.

Notably, the dealership will also use water recycling processes, allowing up to 75% of water to be reused, said Schuite.

Activity is created on the glazed façade of the office building by introducing patios on the office floors with matching ventilation openings on the four parking deck levels, as well as subtle variances in the tint colour of the thermal performance glass panels used in the unitised glazing system.

“With this building, we have designed and created premium commercial office space and a prestigious new home for Menlyn Toyota in an iconic and affordable building seen in the Menlyn and Pretoria context,” concluded Schuite.