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- Sun International and partners Profica and Tristar are bringing a R2.5-billion mixed-use East Rand development to market.
- The development, which is next to Carnival City, will have just under 3 000 residential units when completed.
- Unit prices will start at around R500 000.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Sun International has teamed up with two partners to launch what will ultimately be a R2.5-billion lifestyle estate next to its Carnival City precinct, bringing to market the largest mixed-use development in the East Rand in more than 20 years.
The development in Ekurhuleni, which will be rolled out over the next five to seven years, will - when completed - consist of just under 3 000 residential units, offices, parks, a 10 000m2 neighbourhood market, as well as school and retail facilities such as supermarkets and restaurants.
The entire project site lies on 50ha of vacant land owned by Carnival City, in which Sun International owns a 90% interest.
It will also have strong security features, as well as solar facilities, to deliver at least four hours of backup power every day to those living in the estate.
Phased development
The five separate residential estates of the development will be launched in phases and will also have a central park linking them along with other green belts for people to walk their pets.
The properties available will range from free-standing homes to apartments.
Some 500 units will be on offer at a starting price of R499 000. Properties at the top end of the price range in East Village come in at R1.2 million.
The first phase of the project will also feature a volleyball court and a swimming pool.
Development work will start in June 2024 if pre-sales targets are met in March. It is being developed by LivRES, a partnership between Profica, Tristar and Sun International.
LivRES development director Alan Dinnie said it was "easily" the biggest mixed-use development on the East Rand in more than two decades.
He told News24 that making it affordable had been an important feature as that this is where the largest demand for properties is.
Affordable housing offering
"The lower priced units in the development also do qualify for government subsidies, which gives opportunities for people to participate in this development," he said.
Sun International CEO Anthony Leeming told News24 in an interview after the official launch on Tuesday that the company was taking no risk at all, saying all it is doing is offering its land as its equity.
"We are not at risk for anything. All we are doing is realising the value of the land and getting an equity stake in it. We (Sun International) should ultimately get an equity stake of about a third to 40% of the development cost. The land as it is now sitting has no value and ultimately we are going to realise quite a lot of value from it now."
He said the development would be rolled out in stages, with each one being launched according to how quickly sales come in.
Leeming said Sun International would release parts of the land site as the development is rolled out in stages.
While its first choice would be to sell out generally where possible, it could also end up holding equity stakes in some of the completed developments, which would be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Leeming said the group's plan with the project next to Carnival City was similar in some respects to what it had done in Gqeberha, where it had partnered with developers Flanagan & Gerard to redevelop the Boardwalk Mall next to its casino complex in Summerstrand.
Sun International has kept an interest of about a third in the Boardwalk Mall, which has been a strong performer since its launch in September 2022.
