R154 million for first land auction
Tshwane metro’s land release programme got underway last week at an auction that saw the highest price paid for a land parcel being R41,5 million – a 7,7 ha land in the upmarket Erasmuskloof area.
Tshwane’s land release programme, that saw 17 properties going under the hammer last week on the first auction of its kind in the country, realised a total of R154 million for the city.
A prime Erasmuskloof parcel of land situated on the corner of Solomon Mahlangu Drive and Delmas Road, fetched the highest price at R41,5 million.
An urgent court interdict granted the day before the auction forced the metro to withdraw what was believed to be the most valuable property on the auction list – a 110 hectare property currently home to the notorious Plastic View squatter camp opposite the high-class Woodlands Boulevard Shopping Centre.
Not only was the Plastic View property taken off the list of properties up for grabs last Tuesday, but an adjacent 106 hectare parcel was also removed from the list, as was one other parcel of land, erf 2274 in Laudium.
While the Laudium property was ‘withdrawn’ from the list, the sale of the two Garsfontein properties were ‘postponed’.
The auction was conducted by The High Street Auction Company that said the massive land sale was a first for the country. It was also the first time a municipality embarked on a land release programme by means of a public auction.
A host of incentives but also conditions were linked to the purchase of the land to encourage speedy development of the properties by the private sector.
Two other properties, one situated in Koedoespoort reached a price of R20 million but the offer was rejected while the same happened to Erf 424 in Hennopspark Extension 15, Centurion that fetched an offer of R13,5 million.
The first parcel that went under the hammer was an exceptional property in Sunnyside, that fetched a whopping R18,7 million. The property was the only undeveloped land in the Sunnyside area, situated in the busy Steve Biko Avenue next to the Sunny Park Shopping Centre.
The R154 million was much less than expected to be raised at the auction after the two top Garsfontein properties were removed from the auction.
The 7,7 hectare parcel in Erasmuskloof was bought by the Public Investment Corporation, a wholly-owned government entity, for a massive R41,5 million. The property has mixed use development potential with services readily available, while there was also a condition that the new owner would maintain an existing wetland on the property and allow public access.
Two properties situated adjacent to each other in a prime spot in Soshanguve, went under the hammer for more than R5 million at the historical Tshwane land release auction.
The two land parcels, situated in Soshanguve South Extension 14 across the road from the Halte Railway Station, were first auctioned off individually by The High Street Auction Company in Johannesburg for R2,85 million and R1,75 million respectively, but was later combined and re-auctioned for R5,15 million.
The properties are zoned for multi-purpose developments, but have future plans for being part of A Re Yeng, Tshwane Metro‘s bus rapid transit (BTR) system.
A total of almost 80 properties, constituting a very small percentage of Tshwane metro‘s land holdings, will be auctioned off in three phases. The first sale took place last week, while the other auctions will take place in May and June.
Also read:
Land auction challenged in court
Timeframe for metro land auction
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