Waterfall City will become Gauteng’s CBD

The sweeping R4.5-billion Waterfall City development has the potential to become Gauteng’s new central business district (CBD), enabling large corporates to consolidate their Johannesburg bases while providing scope for future expansion, property developer Attacq CEO Morne Wilken said on Monday.

The mixed-use centre would be anchored by the flagship 120 000-m2 Mall of Africa, which was due for completion in early 2016 and was 76% prelet to a tenant base that included premier retail clothing outlets.

Noting that the development, which would take between 12 and 15 years to be fully completed, would have “excellent” access to the N1 highway, he said Waterfall offered the group a “huge” competitive edge and R3.5-billion in potential development profits.

“We are currently planning [to develop infrastructure] that will [expand] the development’s future potential, and we have the land available to do just that,” he commented, noting that, while some 199 016 m2 was currently under construction, the project had 1.7-million square metres of mixed-use-approved development bulk.

The development had already attracted the likes of advisory firm PwC, which had, in principle, agreed to establish its 40 000 m2, 25-storey headquarters in Waterfall City’s envisaged business district.

Wilken, meanwhile, downplayed the potential impact of Shanghai Zendai’s planned 22-km2 Modderfontein City development, arguing that Attacq had secured first-mover advantage.

Announcing Attacq’s first full-year results since listing on the JSE in October 2013, Wilken reported that the group lifted net asset value a share by 24% year-on-year to R14.77.

Profit before tax increased by 44.2% to R1.23-billion.

By: Natalie Greve

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/waterfall-city-to-become-cbd-of-gauteng-attacq-2014-09-30