Estate Living Magazine New Beginnings - Issue 37 January 2019 | Page 6

P R O P E R T Y
&
I N V E S T M E N T
CARING IS AS
CARING
DOES
Getting older and scaling
down does not mean your
world has to get smaller.
You don’t have to choose
between security and style,
between community and
independence.
You can have it all.
If you’re thinking of buying a retirement home either for yourself or a
parent, you know that the one sure way to raise the blood pressure
of any potential retiree is to make decisions for them – to take away
their agency – because that is taking away their independence.
‘Every person has certain preferences, and we therefore offer a
wide variety of options to fit each person’s unique needs,’ says Jan
Pienaar, CEO of Groenkloof Developments.
CARE AND CHOICE
And that’s what they’ve done with Groenkloof. The first development
was Groenkloof Great Brak, with 118 houses, 49 assisted living
flats, and a 50-bed care unit. That sold out quickly and was rapidly
followed by Groenkloof Reebok, which is also sold out.
The runaway success of the first two developments enabled
Groenkloof to develop their flagship 176-unit Groenkloof Village on
the edge of the George CBD, which forms the heart of an expanding
series of adjacent and interconnected villages. Groenkloof Rif
consists of 42 large plots with houses that would not look out of place
in Bishopscourt, Houghton or Kloof. You’ve missed the boat on this
one, but Groenkloof Glen, where the plots are larger than standard,
still has about 20% of the plots available. The 380-unit Groenkloof
Woods (with about 200 units still available) is still under construction,
and then many look forward to the 500-unit Groenkloof Eden and
the 140-unit Groenkloof Gardens to be developed soon.
While it’s clear there is a wide range of options when it comes to
house size – from modest one-bedroom, one-study, one-bathroom
units with a cute, manageable patch of garden (priced from
R997,000) to an 800-square-metre mansion with extensive grounds
and views for ever – the freedom of choice does not stop there.
Most retirement villages offer either full title or life right models –
and there are good arguments for both – so at Groenkloof you can
decide which best suits your financial and family circumstances.
‘Life right usually costs about 30% less than full title,’ Pienaar says.