Melrose Arch is booming on high demand
STRONG demand for well located residential property is driving new development in the multibillion-rand Melrose Arch mixed-use development.
One on Whiteley, the fourth residential phase of Melrose Arch, was launched earlier this month. It is being developed by Amdec Group and will comprise 119 luxury one and twobedroom apartments.
Andrew Golding, the chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group, which is responsible for marketing the apartments, said Melrose Arch was a pioneering mixed-use development concept that had consistently led the way in local modern urban design.
He said homes in the Melrose Arch precinct remained extremely popular, which was not surprising given that there were only a limited number of residential properties available within the highly fashionable development.
In addition, the development was iconic and offered a sophisticated, highly exclusive and convenient high-street café lifestyle.
“One on Whiteley is, therefore, a most timeous and welcome development that will assist in meeting the ongoing demand for residential property within Melrose Arch and for innovative, sophisticated urban lifestyle spaces in Gauteng,” he said.
One on Whiteley
The apartments are priced from R2.695 million for a onebedroom apartment of 60 square metres through to R6.048m for a two-bed executive flat measuring 136m2.
The total value of the residential units in the new apartment block is R450m and homes will be available for occupation by July 2017.
One on Whiteley will be equipped with air conditioning to all apartments and a management system to monitor costs and reduce carbon emissions. A full electricity back-up system will also be installed to mitigate the effects of load shedding and power outages.
Peet Strauss, the Melrose Arch development manager for Pam Golding Properties, said considerably more development within the Melrose Arch precinct was either planned or underway.
Strauss said the precinct currently comprised 225 000m2 of mixed-use development but a further 375 000m2 had been earmarked for future phases.
He said the precinct would generate an ultimate capital asset value in excess of R16.5 billion.
“Melrose Arch has become a pulsating micro-metropolis. This new apartment development will offer residents an urban lifestyle that is comparable to anywhere else in the world and apartments here are always going to represent an outstanding investment.”
Strauss said Melrose Arch was centrally situated and conveniently close to Sandton, the business capital of South Africa, which made it a popular location for professionals looking to live in a secure development that had the feel of a European city with a vibrant street culture.
He said a number of investors, including local and international executives and professionals, had already acquired homes in the precinct while a number of investors had indicated their intention to purchase apartments with the purpose of letting them.
Strauss said the first three residential phases at Melrose Arch had achieved a gross rental yield of some 12 percent with ongoing demand being experienced from multinational companies looking for luxury accommodation close to Sandton for their employees.
He said the escalation over the years in the square metre value of the various residential phases in Melrose Arch provided an indication of the kind of growth in the value of properties that had been taking place in the precinct.
Strauss added that an increasing number of blue chip companies were based within the development.