Roy Cokayne
ATTERBURY, the leading national property development and asset management group, is to develop a new six-storey office building in Cape Town at a cost of about R225 million.
It is Atterbury’s first commercial property development in the Western Cape in recent years.
Located in a prime location in Claremont adjacent to Cavendish Shopping Centre, the 6 500m2 building will be the head office of financial services group Citadel.
The building will be jointly owned in equal shares by Atterbury, Citadel and Catalyst.
Construction of the stone-façade building is scheduled to be completed by June next year.
The development is being funded by Investec, with the majority of the space in the building to be taken up by Citadel while Catalyst will occupy the top floor of the building.
Gerrit van den Berg, the Western Cape development manager for Atterbury, said that Citadel approached Atterbury to find a prime site and to develop a new office for them in Cape Town.
“They are currently based in Claremont and wanted to stay in the area. Catalyst became involved as they owned the site opposite Cavendish and the development became a reality in the form of a joint venture.
“We are particularly proud to be working with noted financial brands Citadel and Catalyst on this project. The development is on a great site, which we managed to secure through our relationship with Broll who understands the Cape market well,” he said.
Van den Berg added that the development would definitely have a positive impact on the value of neighbouring properties.
Atterbury Asset Managers will be responsible for the asset management on the Citadel head office building.
The old single-storey building that was on the site was demolished to make way for a new modern development.
Designed by architect Robert Silke, the new building includes stone, glass, marble and brass finishes that are aimed at creating a stately feel and that it fits well in the area.
James Ehlers, the managing director of Atterbury Property Developments, confirmed the Western Cape was back on Atterbury’s radar.
“Other developments, such as Mall of Africa within the Waterfall City mega development in Gauteng, and projects in several other African countries and more recently Europe, have kept us busy in recent years. “These will continue to be key projects for us but so will be new development projects and opportunities in the Western Cape,” he said.
Previous development and asset management projects that Atterbury led in the Western Cape include the Bela Rosa mixed-used development in Durbanville in 2010 and various commercial and retail projects in the Western Cape, including the Tygerberg Office Park, Great Westerford refurbishment, Somerset Value Mart, Willow Bridge and Garden Route Mall in George.