Photo by: Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
In unveiling Steyn City’s Vision 2020 guideline last month, Steyn City Properties revealed that it intended to invest a further R5.5-billion into its flagship Steyn City luxury lifestyle development, in Gauteng.
The development’s City Centre is nearing completion, while the first 220 housing units comprising Phase I of the lifestyle development are ready to be launched next year.
The City Centre is also being built on top of a super basement capable of accommodating 2 000 cars. The City Centre is serviced by a network of tunnels beneath the basement level, which feature refuse shoots leading off each of the core lifts and diverting all refuse and services. This allows for a cleaner environment without visual ‘noise’
Steyn City boasts more than 700 apartments and 11 penthouses, with a number of unique developments, including a heliport, its own lagoon, an equestrian and sports centre and even its own primary and high schools.
Steyn City was first launched in 2015 and attracted an initial investment of R6.5-billion in infrastructure to ensure that all facilities and amenities were in place by the time buyers took up residence, which is planned for 2021.
The investment also supported infrastructure for the greater region, including roads, water and sewerage, Steyn City Properties CEO Giuseppe Plumari said.
Steyn City’s more than 5 000 residents will be able to enjoy running, walking or cycling on the development’s 45 km promenade.
Simultaneously, the developers are making their own efforts to stem the tide of crime by providing employment. To this end, Steyn City has created thousands of employment opportunities for the Diepsloot community through its labour desk.
At present, 1 835 people work at City Centre alone, a figure that is increasing weekly as more subcontractors are introduced on site.
“Significantly, our proximity to the [Diepsloot] community means that people who work do not have high transport expenses. Instead, they can save their salaries for essentials like school uniforms and stationery,” Plumari said.
The development of Steyn City has also created other advantages, most notably for those who travel through the New North – the hub that connects Pretoria, Midrand and Johannesburg.
Steyn City is a significant contributor to the development of the R511 (William Nicol), a project that will see this corridor open to the N14.
Phase II of the project will start in early 2020.
Plumari said the parkland’s unique location was one of the factors contributing to this lifestyle. According to him, the choice of this site was deliberate, especially with infrastructure developments making the area more accessible.
Additionally, for the convenience of residents, Steyn City School was established in 2018, and will, by 2021, accommodate learners from Grade 000 to Grade 12. The school intends to provide a forward-thinking curriculum, which was formulated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution in mind.
The launch of Capital Park, a 14 ha commercial centre, further facilitates the parkland residence’s work/live/play philosophy. Capital Park offers ten individually designed three- and four-storey buildings, providing up to 80 000 m2 of bulk space.
Steyn City Properties is now ready to break ground on its second commercial building, which offers a total area of 5 077 m2 on the ground level, the first and the second storeys and the roof level, as well as 315 parking bays.
This year also saw the introduction of Steyn City’s 104 on Creek apartments, an option for people seeking the convenience of a ‘lock up and go’ lifestyle.
The apartments are reached from the basement through 18 core lifts, which incorporate design elements such as timber, sandstone, granite and marble. Each lift core is visually unique, making it easy for users to remember where they would have parked their car.
Lagoon Development
The Steyn City Clearwater Lagoon is expected to be completed by March 2020.
The lagoon is 300 m long and is entirely chemical free, using a clearwater purification process to produce crystalline water.
The lagoon will feature a kiddies’ water park, beach areas, volleyball courts, change facilities and a kiosk where one can buy refreshments and rent necessities like umbrellas or sports equipment.
Although it is reasonable to expect that such facilities would come at a price, Steyn City Properties CFO Christo de Wet notes that the company is considering a number of flexible financial options that take into account the current tough economic circumstances.
“Our goal [in terms of our] investment in Steyn City is to make it a viable proposition for more South Africans. We’re also making this investment opportunity more accessible to forward-thinking investors, helping them take advantage before there’s major uptake or the market turns,” he elaborated.
These options also open Steyn City as an investment opportunity to a market that often finds itself precluded, such as small to medium- sized business owners, self-employed individuals and foreigners.
Pricing for City Centre will be disclosed at the launch in 2020.