Rosebank designs
Developers, banks, pension funds and JSE-listed property players continue to invest millions of rand into reshaping the skyline of Rosebank in Johannesburg.
Specialist bank Investec, through its real estate arm Investec Property (IP), recently acquired the mothballed Galleria site at the junction of Cradock, Biermann and Bath avenues opposite The Firs through a joint venture. The plan is to invest more than R1bn to turn the site, a stone’s throw from the Gautrain station, into a mixeduse development comprising 33 500 m of office, retail and, possibly, also up-market residential space. The group already owns the five-star Hyatt Regency hotel and recently sold the adjoining revamped The Firs to JSE-listed Investec Property Fund.
IP, run by veteran property dealmaker Sam Hackner, believes Rosebank is fast becoming one of SA’s most coveted commercial and retail hubs.
IP development, trading & acquisitions head Robin Magid hopes to link the new Galleria development to The Firs through flow and design. The project is in its design stage and could comprise three or four 10-storey buildings. “The precinct offers the potential to create a mini Melrose Arch, given that the concept of live, work, shop and play is gaining huge traction in the area.”
A major tenant has yet to be secured, however. “We are not speculative developers so we won’t push the button until the space is at least 60% prelet.”
Yet Magid is confident its prime location, a block from the Gautrain station, The Hyatt, The Zone and Rosebank Mall, will make it a sought-after corporate address. IP is assessing a number of other opportunities within the node.
Other big projects under way in Rosebank include Standard Bank’s new grows Rosebank exposure R1bn project planned for Galleria site 65 000 m head office in Oxford Road and JSE-listed Hyprop Investments’ R920m redevelopment of the Rosebank Mall. The latter will almost double in size from 36 000 m to 62 000 m .
Latest figures from the SA Property Owners Association confirm that there’s been a surge in demand for Rosebank office space over the past 18 months, no doubt thanks to the opening of the Gautrain station. Office vacancies have shrunk from around 12% in March 2011 to 7% in September this year.
Research by development consultants Fernridge on household spend within a 3 km radius of the 10 Gautrain stations shows that Rosebank has a bigger potential retail market than Sandton.