Durban - Entrepreneur Vivian Reddy’s brief to his architectural team behind the landmark R3.1 billion Oceans uMhlanga development, was that they had to think about four things.
These were “world-class… Dubai… opulence… and the best ever”, one of the architects, Guy Steenekamp, told King Goodwill Zwelithini, VIP guests, potential buyers and the media at yesterday’s launch of the project in the heart of uMhlanga.
The spectacular ground-breaking development is the brainchild of Reddy of Edison Power, and Rob Alexander of Ducatus Property Group.
“The development is truly at an international level,” confirmed Piaras Moriarty, the chief executive of DevMark Global, which specialises in global development marketing and sales, and who went on a scouting trip to Dubai with Reddy and the architects.
Global
The iconic complex will feature two towers with 460 sea-facing apartments, including penthouses, as well as a world-class shopping mall with 100 stores, that has already attracted top global superbrands, like Versace, Burberry, Armani and Paul Smith.
The shopping centre will rate among one of the top three high-end malls in the country, with Sandton City in Johannesburg and the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.
The mega project would dominate the uMhlanga CBD, but it would not block anyone’s view, Reddy said.
“We have consulted widely with the people of uMhlanga and different organisations, and have great support,” Reddy said, explaining that he and Alexander acquired the site from the previous developers (he had been a 5% shareholder) two years ago.
Oceans uMhlanga is said to be the largest private sector mixed-use development in the history of KwaZulu-Natal.
The residence will boast contemporary-style architecture. There will be a 24-hour concierge service, a 25m lap pool, family pool, wellness studio, yoga enclave, Zen gardens and direct link to the mall.
The partners were applauded yesterday for their leap of faith in taking a risk during tough economic times.
And as much as the project will be welcomed by potential buyers, it will also be welcomed by the 15 000 people who will get direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase, and the 2 500 who will find permanent jobs once it is finished.
Fifty percent of the construction work will go to previously disadvantaged people, small and medium-sized companies and women, as well as the disabled.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, said that job creation was a critical goal of the government, but that the government could not do it on its own.
‘Invested in innovation’
The business sector was often criticised for not adequately delivering, but the Oceans project “breaks the mould”. People like Reddy had “grabbed the bull by its horns” invested in innovation and taken risks so that the country could move forward to achieve higher levels of growth on a sustainable basis, he said.
Gigaba said he would like to see other projects launched all over the country to defy the current economic conditions.
King Zwelithini, who unveiled the model of the development and turned the first sod at the 7-hectare site, said it was encouraging that in the current economic climate, when many people were talking doom and gloom, the project would create thousands of jobs.
“We often do not realise the greater value of such mega projects on our people and the economy of the entire region. It is people like the Reddys and the Alexanders who ensure that we take the lead in development, not just in South Africa but on the African continent,” he said.
Reddy would be sponsoring a major summit next month which King Zwelithini had called for, on the issue of social cohesion, he told the audience.
Cyril Xaba, the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, who was standing in for Mike Mabuyakhulu, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, said there was no doubt that the developers had made a sound business decision.
The marketing campaign would begin today and there would be eight billboards travelling around the city, said Erik Steele of Hirt and Carter, responsible for the project’s marketing and brand development.
A sales centre will open across the road from the construction site.
The sales launch will be on March 26, when people can sign up for apartments. The venue is still to be decided.
Construction will start at about the same time.
The mall is expected to open in November 2018, with the residential section being finished at about the same date.
Construction in numbers
* R3.1 billion - price tag of the project.
* R220 million - what the two developers have already spent on the project.
* R60m - the cost of the two penthouses.
* R1.65m - the lowest price of an apartment.
* 220 000m3 - the amount of soil to be moved to make way for the development.
* 90 000m2 - the size of the project, spanning 250m from end-to-end.
* 80 000m3 - the amount of concrete that will be used each day at the peak of construction.
* 33 000m2 - the size of the shopping mall, which will boast international super-brands.
* 15 000 - the number of direct and indirect jobs created during construction.
* 4 000 parking bays - for the apartments, mall and the hotel.
* 2 500 - the number of permanent jobs that will be created.
* 700m2 - the area in each of the top two penthouses.
* 460 - the number of “elegantly designed” apartments.
* 200 - the number of rooms in the five-star hotel, to be managed by a top international brand.
* 100 - the number of stores in the shopping mall.
* 28 - the floor that the two penthouses will be on.
* 15m - the deepest point of the construction.
* 6 - the number of levels of underground parking. (The site slopes and the development will be at ground level on the Lagoon Drive side, with excavation going down to the sixth level at the back.)
DAILY NEWS