Prime properties to be auctioned
Details of 20 of the 80 Tshwane metro-owned land to be auctioned off next month to raise money, was made available on Wednesday. The metro hopes to raise R500 million in total with the sale of the land which will be used for housing developments in the city.
Twenty Tshwane metro-owned properties, the majority being prime land parcels in the east of the city and in Centurion, will go under the hammer on 24 March.
The land to be auctioned next month is the first of 80 properties identified by the metro to be sold to raise money for housing and the formalisation of settlements in the Tshwane area and is expected to boost the city’s coffers by some R500 million.
The properties, once auctioned and zoned, will be used for the development of new businesses, retail, industrial and residential buildings, said Tshwane member of the mayoral committee, Subesh Pillay.
Addressing a mayoral business dinner on Tuesday evening, Pillay said the total value of the developments – presuming all properties were developed – would be in excess of R26 billion.
“Once sold, rates on the vacant properties would bring in R3,7 million per month with immediate effect,” he said.
However, after development, this amount would increase to R44 million per month with an additional 42 000 jobs being created, according to Pillay.
Probably one of the most valuable and controversial properties is a 110ha parcel of land in Moreleta Park on the corner of De Villebois Mareuil Drive and Garstfontein Road which could be bought separately as a lot with an adjoining land parcel of 106ha.
Described by The High Street Auction Co as a ‘once in a lifetime development opportunity’ to be rezoned to the highest and best use, it appears to either border the squatter camp Plastic View or includes the illegal settlement.
Another prime property in Erasmuskloof of 7,7ha on the corner of Delmas and Solomon Mahalangu Drive, will also be auctioned off as land for mixed use developments.
Other properties in the east to go on the block are a 3,4ha stand in Micra Avenue, La Montagne, zoned for special or educational purposes and is currently being used as a storage facility for a road construction company, a 2,9ha stand on the corners of Stanza Bopape, End and Pretorius streets in Koedoespoort, and a 8 741sqm stand on the corner of Waltloo and Simon Vermooten streets in Waltloo with proposed industrial zoning.
In Centurion, seven land parcels will be auctioned off, including the last vacant stand in Highveld Technopark in Madga Road with industrial 2, offices or residential zoning, a residential stand in Sandstone Avenue, Zwartkop Ext 8, three industrial-2 stands located in the well-established Hennops Industrial Park, and two residential stands in Capensis Avenue in Rooihuiskraal North.
Properties in the north of Pretoria up for auction are a 3,1ha residential stand in Mirca Avenue, Sinoville and two properties in Soshanguve South, located directly in front of Halte train station.
In Sunnyside, a prime property opposite Sunnypark shopping centre on the corner of Trevenna Street and Steve Biko Road will be auctioned.
A 13ha land parcel in Bergamot Street, Lotus Gardens, which currently has a municipal clinic on site, will go under the hammer in the west as well as a residential stand in the same suburb in Henna Street and another residential property on the corner of Himalaya Street and 41st Ave, Laudium Ext 2.
Reacting to several complaints by businessmen and entrepreneurs who attended the dinner about Tshwane’s decision to sell the land on auction, Pillay said auctions were transparent and fair and had been proven to maximise the value obtained as compared to other means of disposal.
The 24 March auction takes place at 12:00 at Summer Place, 69 Melville Road, Hyde Park.
Details of when the next batch of properties will be sold, would be made available at a later stage.
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Read: Massive municipal land sale to fund housing
Timeframe for metro land auction
