Pretoria gets new R6bn mixed-use precinct
Construction has begun on a new multi-billion rand mixed-use development in Pretoria, the Castle Gate.
Castle Gate will comprise 100,000sqm of office space, 40,000sqm of specialist medical facilities, and a hotel as well as 1,100 residential units, and a 23,000sqm convenience retail centre.
The precinct will also include eight hectares of protected green areas that will incorporate walking and running trails.
Upon completion, the project will cost R6 billion, with as many as 20,000 permanent jobs created as a result of its development.
The project was first announced in 2016, with Atterbury partnering with the Erasmus family to develop the site that makes up the final remaining portion of Waterkloof farm.
Raoul de Villiers, Atterbury Development Manager, says, “the project is a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity with an excellent location in a key growth node and a unique proposition that has the support of its city and is being welcomed by its community.”
Approximately 15 minutes drive from Pretoria CBD, the site is between the R21 and the N1 and provides easy access to all key urban points around Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The development will be easily accessible from Solomon Mahlangu Drive, which is already in the process of being widened and upgraded as part of the development.
The second phase of the Castle Gate project road upgrades includes building a new highway bridge across the N1, which will make it possible to introduce double lanes in both directions on Solomon Mahlangu Drive, between Castle Gate and Hoërskool Waterkloof.
A convenience centre will open in September 2020, and include retail, medical consulting rooms, offices and a gym.
The developer said that the lifestyle centre will include to the latest store concepts for Woolworths, Checkers, Dis-Chem and Builders Warehouse, as well as 10 restaurants including Rocomamas, Doppio Zero, Spur, Ocean Basket, Nando’s and Burger King.
It will also have a Planet Fitness gym complete with a swimming pool, as well and an outdoor walking and running track through the precinct’s nature area.
The entire precinct is expected to be developed over the next decade and the second phase of Castle Gate is planned to begin in mid-2020.
The launch was attended by Premier of Gauteng David Makhura, Mayor of the City of Tshwane Stevens Mokgalapa and Tshwane MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning Isak Pietersen.
Makhura visited the site to pledge his support of the development and he was particularly impressed by the sheer size and value of the Castle Gate project, and the significant positive economic impact it is set to have on the Gauteng province.