Africrest and City of Joburg celebrate the opening of The Village and Spark School campus
BRAMLEY – The City of Johannesburg and Africrest celebrate the completion of phase one of an affordable housing project in Bramley.
The City of Johannesburg and Africrest Properties celebrated the opening of the middle-income apartment development for rent only, known as The Village as well the Spark School campus in Bramley on 3 December 2018.
The Village and Spark Schools form part of phase one of the entire development. Director at Africrest Properties, Grant Friedman said, “Phase one consists of 180 apartments as well as the school… In the next phases, we will complete a further 320 apartments.”
Friedman added, “We think the development is unique as it is a northern suburbs address, yet, the rentals are extremely affordable for households who earn an income above R13 000 per month.
We spent a lot of money trying to create open spaces, green areas and a fully functional gym for our residents. Tenants also receive 10 gigs of free fibre Wi-Fi per month. We’re trying to create a community feel with tenants security and peace of mind being a top priority.”
The City of Johannesburg MMC for Housing Meshack van Wyk said, “We are quite excited about this development. The mayor has called on private developers to partner with the City of Johannesburg and this is one of those developments.”
Van Wyk added that the City has called for the partnership between private developers and the City to create inclusive and affordable housing for all.
Joburg’s MMC for Development Planning Reuben Masango said that the attitude of engagement between the City of Johannesburg and Africrest has been the reason for the project’s success.
Masango expressed support for the private sector’s engagement with the City of Johannesburg and stated, “We are happy as a City to be associated with such a development that embraces the vision and spatial planning of the City, that creates an environment where residents can live and play in close proximity to job opportunities’.”
The development is only 2km from Melrose Arch and 800m from the Louis Botha Avenue Rea Vaya Station.
Friedman explained that Africrest is currently developing three other sites around Johannesburg and by June 2019 will have developed 800 apartments; by December 2020, it will have a portfolio of at least 2 000 apartments. This is in addition to their growing commercial property portfolio. Africrest’s developments have provided employment for over 500 construction workers.
The company’s’ developments consist of one- and two-bedroom apartments and rentals range from R3 500 to R8 000 per month.
Africrest is committed to developing within the City’s urban design framework. Liana Strydom of the City of Johannesburg’s Transformation and Special Planning Department thanked Africrest ‘for being a developer that is building a better City’.
