The Civil Engineering Contractor July 2019 | Page 16

ON SITE
On your marks,
set… the race
against time
The early days of the development were hampered — but not delayed — by extreme rain.
By Eamonn Ryan
When it comes to
constructing student
accommodation, what
focuses the minds of
contractors is that the
first day of the academic
term represents an
immovable deadline.
It has to be completed
before students arrive: a
development completed
just one week late can
only come onto the
market a full year later.
14 | CEC July 2019
D
eveloper Lapalaka Group
and main contractor Khune-
Con have until December
2019 to transform what is presently a
muddy block at 40 Cookham Avenue
in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, into
a R38-million secure home-from-
home development for University of
Johannesburg (UJ) students in the
heart of the city’s student precinct.
Their aim is to develop the entire
street, with this project involving
the demolition of several private
homes, and the erection of a
three-story residential complex of
63 fully-furnished units or ‘pods’,
each containing four bedrooms, a
kitchen, fully-serviced bathroom and
a small serving counter within a pod;
together with social amenities such
as sport, entertainment with free
Wi-Fi and study facilities, security
and 24-hour administration. There’s
a mini soccer pitch on the roof. As
the location is within 400m walking
distance of UJ, parking provision is
calculated at a ratio of one parking
bay per 33 students.
The demand for tertiary education
continues to grow, and a campus
such as UJ — in common with other
universities — is estimated to have a
shortfall of accommodation for about
9 000 students. Home-like amenities
are important for youths still lacking
life experience, and this development
aims to bridge the gap between being
at home and out in the world. One
of the most popular choices among
students is purpose-built student
accommodation that enables them to
play as well as work. These are secure,
managed apartment blocks.
UJ Student Accommodation &
Residence Life division is mainly
responsible for the accommodation
of approximately 19 000 students
in both university owned and
managed residences as well as off-
campus accredited privately owned
accommodation. Lapalaka has privately
provided several thousand units.
Lapalaka specialises in university
accommodation and site 40 Cookham
is merely its latest of many such
projects. Along with Feemstra,
it ranks among the student
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