GARDEN CITIES NOTCHES UP ANOTHER MAJOR FIRST
WITH A 16 000-HOME NEW TOWN AT FISANTEKRAAL
Groundbreaking move by Cape Town’s oldest development company
2013
Garden Cities, the Cape’s oldest property development company has embarked on the biggest project in its 95-year history – an entire new town that will cover 767 hectares of land and eventually accommodate 16 000 homes at Fisantekraal, to the north-east of Durbanville.
The project, that will run parallel with the company’s two other major developments in the city, has been given the green light by national and local authorities and planning is well advanced. The development will be on land bought by Garden Cities 20 years ago to provide for its planned expansion in the Cape.
Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO) approval has been given by the City of Cape Town and a pilot project of 868 BNG (Breaking New Ground) subsidised houses will kick off the development of the new town. The houses will form part of the approved first phase of 2 880 houses. The first phase of the development will also accommodate social housing in multiple-unit apartment buildings.
As part of the infrastructure of the first stages of the development, Garden Cities will establish a local office on site and also create a model village. One of the major priorities will be the research into and development of improved low cost housing units. ‘We will strive to create more aesthetically pleasing basic homes through better design and planning and the use of appropriate materials,’ said John Matthews, CEO of Garden Cities.
While the building of bonded housing for sale to middle income homeowners is part of the entire town planning strategy, the early stages of the development will concentrate on provision of housing for lower income residents and those in need of social housing. People on waiting lists and in squatter camps would be in consideration.
‘Eventually, Fisantekraal will present a completely integrated community that will accommodate a wide cross-section of the Cape population,’ said Matthews. Bonded housing in the price bracket of R350 000 to R400 000 was envisaged.
The subsidized housing will be for occupation by households earning combined incomes less than R3 500 per month.
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Historically, Garden Cities has provided the entire infrastructure for its new developments which currently include Sunningdale on the west coast, where over 3 000 houses will eventually be built, and Pinehurst, also bordering Durbanville, where a similar number of homes will be built.
The company set the bar very high more than 90 years ago with the development of Pinelands and later Meadowridge and Edgemead, all of which are home to stable prosperous communities.
Included in the plan are hospital and school sites, retail developments and sports grounds.
http://www.gardencities.co.za/