Amdec announces affordable housing project in Ottery
As part of its commitment to help alleviate the shortage of affordable housing in the Western Cape, the Amdec Group has announced the development of a R500m affordable housing estate in Ottery, Cape Town.
Golden Grove Estate will be built on an 11ha site formerly known as Golden Grove Poultry Farm, offering 1,000 affordable residential apartments for rent.
Consisting of one-, twoand three-bedroom units, the development is targeted at households with an employment history and a joint household income of up to R22,000 per month. The rental cost will not exceed 30% of the tenant’s household income.
Golden Grove Estate will include a convenience retail centre; a laundry; communal gardens and a children’s playground; a creche, daycare and aftercare or supervised homework facilities; a furniture workshop where residents can build or assemble their own flat-pack furniture; fivea-side soccer pitches and basketball courts; and a communal recreational clubhouse for all residents.
“We are acutely aware of the need for affordable housing, so we are delighted that our planning application in respect of Golden Grove Estate was approved,” said Amdec Group CEO James Wilson last week at a sod-turning ceremony attended by the executive mayor of Cape
Town, Alderman Dan Plato. “We intend launching to market within the next month or two and being in the ground before the end of the year,” said Wilson.
“As the demand for housing in SA continues to grow and our capacity to deliver housing is simply not able to meet that demand, I am pleased to see the private sector playing its part and developing affordable housing sites that also include a wide variety of attractive recreational spaces,” said Plato. “I look forward to seeing the first of the families move into their new homes in the near future.”
The Amdec Group is not new to the affordable housing sector. In 2007 it acquired and redeveloped 13 vacant office buildings in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, to create an innovative and ground-breaking mixeduse precinct providing affordable homes for
1,500 young families
(about 6,000 people).
“We have established a fully fledged affordable housing division responsible for building, owning, operating and managing our affordable housing stock to ensure that housing is made available to those who need it most,” said Wilson.
“We are also engaging with industry experts in the fields of affordable, social and subsistence housing to provide the thought leadership necessary to develop innovative solutions to the national housing crisis.”