Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April 2015 | Page 14

MASTER INVESTOR

fabric of our planning so that
lifestyle norms can be restored.”
The design of Steyn City puts
people, not cars, at the cetre of all
activities, ensuring an unprecedented quality of life. The result is a lifestyle resort with all amenities conveniently located, giving residents
back the precious commodity of
time in a secure, upmarket environment. Steyn City features both residential and commercial properties
and offers access to all amenities.
In addition, a network of pedestrianised pathways and cycle tracks
links all residential dwellings with
numerous parks and dense woodland, creating an outdoor park-life
environment and community-centered neighbourhood.
Intergrated
lifestyle-focussed
developments are an emerging
trend and Steyn City has been a
game changer in the South African property development industry. “This trend has been positive
worldwide and the uptake locally
is phenomenal, due to the need for
a more secure ‘live, work, play’ lifestyle,” Plumari says.

The vision
Inspired by the structure and layout
of Hyde Park in London, which
allows Londoners to move around
freely outdoors, Steyn City was “A
shared vision between myself and
my long-time friend Douw Steyn,
to create something unique,” says
Plumari.
The vision was to develop a
uniquely city South African city
based on the pedestrianized,
community-orientated cities of
old. “We tried to examine what
will constitute the most important
factor in developing a residential
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April 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

estate in terms of lifestyle. During
our research, we quickly discovered
the most negative part in the way
we live today is the traffic on our
roads. It has come to dominate
our lives to such an extent that
that residences and suburbs have
become islands in a sea of traffic
and it is alsomost impossible for
pedestrians to navigate outside of
their homes,” Plumari explains.
“One of the biggest barriers to our
lifestyles of old, where children
grew up playing on suburban
streets, is the motor vehicle. Once
we realised this, it became the

The location
Steyn City is situated North of
Fourways between Dainfern and
Diepsloot, on the outskirts of
Johannesburg. It is located close to
major arterial routes and Lanseria
airport.
The land for the proposed Steyn
City development was first acquired
by Plumari in 1994. Once Plumari
had acquired about 200 hectares
of the land, it prompted Steyn to
acquire the remaining tracts of
about 800 hectares. Today, the site
comprises 2,000 acres of land.
“Prior to Steyn buying into my
company, it was my long-term
strategy to purchase land on deed
of sale on what I believed were
future nodes on existing arterial
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