New property breaks ground in Menlyn
Summit Place, located in Menlyn, Pretoria, will shortly offer great convenience with access to the new Protea Hotel Fire & Ice and Menlyn Park Shopping Centre directly across the road.
Secured by Emira Property Fund, which has invested a R403-million, 50% share in five buildings in Summit Place, a new P-grade office development – including other mixed uses – will further bolster Emira’s already flourishing portfolio of quality property assets.
Geoff Jennett, CEO of Emira, says: ‘We believe this investment will enhance our portfolio and the value we give our shareholders, as well as offer significant opportunities in the future.’ Emira concluded the acquisition deal last year at an average yield of 8.14%.
Jennett explains that Emira was able to take up this attractive opportunity because of its excellent partnerships. ‘Emira was offered the opportunity to purchase a 50% undivided share with Neotrend, the same company that in 2014, sold Emira a 60% undivided share in the Ben Fleur Boulevard shopping centre in Mpumalanga.’
Summit Place is optimally located at the intersection of Garsfontein and the N1, with great visibility towards the highway. Garsfontein also has several Gautrain bus stops, an added convenience for commuters travelling between Pretoria, Centurion, Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport.
The overall development comprises 10 premiumgrade commercial buildings. Emira and Neotrend will take ownership of five of these, with current tenants including Grant Thornton, BDO, Summit Sky Grill & Bar, Land Rover, Assupol, and Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo.
The first two completed buildings were transferred to Emira in December 2015 and offer state-of-the- art security, ample parking, and upmarket finishes to create an appealing business environment. The remaining three buildings, which include both office and retail space, will be developed by Emira and its partners for completion in January 2017.
The large mixed-use node that is collectively known as Menlyn, includes the Menlyn, Garsfontein, Menlyn Maine, and the Faerie Glen areas. Well serviced, busy and easily accessed from the suburbs and freeways, this node is dominated by the commercial hub of some 353 490m2 of mixed-grade commercial space.
In addition to the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, currently increasing its size to a massive 170 000m2, the area has a number of hospital facilities, a sizeable motor trade hub, various value centres, a number of schools, and several green-rated commercial buildings. Most recently the area has been granted a license to operate a casino and conference centre in the immediate vicinity of Summit Place, which will see the Menlyn area become even stronger.
‘With the flurry of development in the area, an investment in prime property in Menlyn made for an easy decision. Seeking to expand the fund’s property portfolio, and premium grade offices in particular, this deal has provided us with an incredible opportunity to further our own growth,’ reports Jennett.
