The Site The 6.5ha rectangular shaped site which is bordered by Carl Cronje Drive on the east side and the Elsieskraal River on the west , had many unique opportunities and as many challenges . It was further reinforced by the newly developed Tyger waterfront to the south and a future retail opportunity to its northern boundary .
The site had a sharp fall of approximately 5m down to the river on the south-western side and a general fall of approximately 11m from Carl Cronje Drive to the Elsieskraal River .
The site has the Doordekraal electrical substation situated off Carl Cronje Drive located almost centrally along the length of the site , together with all its servitudes and technical requirements .
Vehicular access onto the site off Carl Cronje Drive was the subject of extensive negotiations with the authorities , as was the extension to Old Oak Road on the northern boundary of the site . This involved the retention of three very large existing oak trees located in the middle of the proposed extension .
The existing lawn bowling club needed to be maintained to ensure uninterrupted bowling throughout the duration of the contract . This necessitated the removal and relocation of one of the greens which needed to be relocated and re-established on the site .
The existence of a stormwater servitude on the southern end of the site required the careful design of reed beds and retention dams and integration into the overall design .
The Elsieskraal River and its banks , which provided unique opportunities for the site , needed to be rehabilitated to realise their full potential , together with the establishment of the 50 and 100-year floodlines . Existing and future residential developments on the opposite side of the river bank needed to be taken into account .
Part of the site had been used as a building rubble dumpsite and the soil was generally found to be of poor quality . Much of the site was clay which necessitated a piling contract in excess of 950 piles . In many areas , the surface beds had to be designed as suspended slabs .
The site enjoys the advantage of a wonderful micro-climate particularly with respect to shelter from the prevailing south easterly winds .
Facts and Figures Willowbridge has a Gross Building Area of ± 55,000m 2 consisting of a retail component of 22,000m 2 , ( 4.000m 2 on the lower ground floor and 18,000m 2 on the ground floor ) as well as an additional 4,000m 2 of first floor offices . The two major tenants are Woolworths , who , incidentally , chose Willowbridge to launch their new concept home décor store in Cape Town , and Pick n Pay . Both majors were limited to a lettable area of
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