JSE-listed real estate group Growthpoint Properties says it is attracting new business to Woodmead, Sandton, with its significant R290-million investment programme that improves public infrastructure and the company’s strategic assets in the area.

Growthpoint owns and operates about 250 000 m² of office and retail space with a combined value of more than R4-billion in Woodmead.

Its Woodmead assets include the offices at Woodmead Office Park, Woodmead Estate, Pinewood Office Park and Country Club Estate, as well as the shopping centre, Woodmead Retail Park, which has an upmarket tenant mix of more than 75 stores and is anchored by Woolworths and Pick n Pay.

Further, Growthpoint says it has attracted more top businesses to the area.

It will also introduce blue-chips, JSE-listed technology group Altron and DRA Global to Woodmead in early 2021. Both have made long-term commitments to the node and will occupy a combined nearly 40 000 m² of office space.

Pivotal to attracting these businesses to Woodmead were the improvements in the public road infrastructure in the area, Growthpoint posits.

The company undertook the design, development, construction and funding of improvements to both the M1 Highway Woodmead Interchange, as well as the intersection of Woodmead drive and Woodlands drive.

Growthpoint has converted the M1 Highway’s Woodmead Interchange into a ‘diverging-diamond’ configuration, which it notes improves traffic flows with fewer traffic signals. The Woodmead drive and Woodlands drive roadways have also been widened at their intersection and the traffic signals reconfigured, comments Growthpoint chief development and investment officer Rudolf Pienaar.

The Woodmead traffic improvement project has been a four-year process for Growthpoint. It was completed at the end of October, ready for the two major new businesses to open their new headquarters in the area in 2021.

After a proposal process, Altron selected Growthpoint to consolidate its operating companies' offices, which are currently located across a vast and fragmented real estate portfolio, into a single strategic campus in Woodmead at The Woodlands.

The office park features a wetland and animal reserve within a nature park. The Woodlands’ setting incorporates a lifestyle centre with a gym, creche, and Mugg & Bean. It comprises 32 buildings and is home to more than 100 businesses.

Growthpoint has modernised and customised Buildings 1 to 8 at The Woodlands to meet Altron’s needs.

The eight buildings are linked with a 360 m walkway to create a connected campus for the group of companies.

Growthpoint says it has helped Altron achieve a 40% space saving, which also supports significant occupational and operational savings.

Moreover, the Growthpoint development team is also delivering an integrated internal fit-out solution for the campus buildings, which are tailored for Altron’s people and optimised for high performance.

Growthpoint is also introducing diversified global engineering, project delivery and operations management group DRA Global to Woodmead.

For its South African head office, DRA Global chose Growthpoint to provide it with a modern facility that consolidates its business and employees, currently located across eight different buildings, under one roof.

Growthpoint notes that it met the brief with optimised, efficient space that supports lower occupancy and operational costs.