on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal;
• The Rustenburg Rapid Transport system
(scheduled to be completed in 2014).
Future planned transport and infrastructural
developments between Durban and Johannesburg include:
• The development of Cato Ridge on the eastern
coast as a dry port;
• The sale of the old Durban airport site to Transnet
so that a dug out port can be constructed
• The extension of commuter rail network to reach
Pietermaritzburg;
• The development of Harrismith as a logistics hub;
• The setting up of several logistics hubs throughout
Gauteng.
These new corridor developments act as a catalyst for
other new real estate development, which development
typically follows this (nodal development) pattern: catalyst >>
industrial development >> residential development >> social
development >> retail development >> office development >>
more residential development >> more retail development.
An example of how transport corridors influence property
the Galleria, all of which are within walking
distance of Gautrain’s Rosebank Station.
• Rosebank has also seen the development or
refurbishment of new hotels (including, for
example, 45 on Bath, a boutique hotel offering
exceptional comfort to both business travellers and
tourists. Standard Bank’s new office development
– which shall boast environmentally-friendly
construction components and energy-saving
processes – shall be complete
and ready for occupation in early 2013.
• The development or refurbishment of several
world-class hotels, entertainment centres and
shopping centres within Sandton such as the
Balalaika, Michelangelo, Hilton and Garden
Court Hotels, Sandton Towers, Nelson Mandela
Square and Sandton City. Pedestrian access to
these destinations will be improved as most are
within walking distance from the Sandton station.
• The construction of a 40-storey skyscraper and the
development of an additional two hundred
thousand square metres of office space since 2009.
Although development within this node is slower than
can be seen when you look at the Gautrain and how this
new transport corridor encouraged development and
refurbishment.
everyone would have liked, Alexandra is receiving both
private and public investment, the latter being under the
government’s Alexandra Urban Renewal project.
The Gautrain project commenced in 2006 and over
11 000 people were employed to work on the fifty sites
which the project impacted along its route. Now in full
operation, the Gautrain links Pretoria, Johannesburg and
OR Tambo airport by quick, efficient rides.
Linking Johannesburg and Pretoria is the Blue IQ
Innovation Hub – a strategic development initiative of
many years by the Gauteng provincial government in
association with the CSIR and the University of Pretoria.
A number of developments around scientific and technical
research and development have been commenced within
this development band.
Property development along the route has been, as can
be expected, dynamic and has resulted in many wealthcreation opportunities for developers and investors.
These include:
• The transformation of the mixed-use precinct
in Rosebank (directly opposite the new Rosebank
station) to include a R600 million upgrading of the
retail developments such as the Zone, the Firs and
www.reimag.co.za
A ten-hectare land portion close to the Centurion
station is to be redeveloped to include an ultra-modern
convention centre, hotel precinct, residential developments
and new office developments. This proposed mixeduse development represents one of the best investment
opportunities within South Africa at present. 132
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