SA Affordable Housing September / October 2020 | Page 22

PROJECT
commencing on a pre-nomination basis in blocks. This became
possible as buying trends emerged. Coetzee says this alone
saves approximately two months in building plan approval
time, which results in financial savings and quicker delivery
to buyers. “This also enables the contractor (the construction
was outsourced by Cosmopolitan Projects to Maxwell Gordon
Homes) to better control and manage production and delivery
since they could focus on one area instead of continuously
shifting from one site to another.
The entrance, with its emphasis on security.
affordable housing model would not work.” It is for this reason
that Cosmopolitan Projects does most of these functions inhouse
– land development, project management, sales, and
marketing as well as property management.
Another efficiency was that stands and houses, initially
sold ‘plot and plan’ on order, were changed to construction
COSMOPOLITAN PROJECTS
“Though still a mass development,
it comes with the type of features
usually associated with security and
lifestyle estates.”
“The risk with this is the rapidity with which this market changes.
It could yet happen with further interest rate cuts, which can
affect the market overnight,” says Vorster.
In Phase 2 we opted for PV (photovoltaic) panels on the
geysers which generate electricity for a normal electric
geyser. It is more aesthetic with no geysers visible on roofs,
making the development look much tidier – and the energy
saving is much the same as thermosyphon solar geysers.
We have 135mm insulation inside the ceiling – as dictated
20 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 SAAffordHousing saaffordablehousingmag SA Affordable Housing www.saaffordablehousing.co.za