Infrastructure and construction services company Concor Construction and commercial property financier Tuhf have established a partnership to fund two, and possibly more, developments in the Conradie Park precinct in the Western Cape.

Tuhf is providing development finance for the establishment of two four-storey residential blocks, namely Kings Blockhouse, which will have 149 apartments, and Silvermine, which will have 80 apartments. The apartments will be sold on the open market.

Conradie Park is a residential-led mixed-use development, encompassing social housing, First Home Finance housing, open market residential apartments, commercial and retail developments, as well as a creche that currently caters to 65 children, plus two affordable private schools.

The broader Conradie Park precinct is one of the Western Cape government’s seven priority projects, and part of the provincial strategy to redress Apartheid-era spatial planning, said Concor Construction development executive Mark Schonrock.

Silvermine, which is due for completion in August, will boast 31 studio apartments of 29 m², 45 one-bedroom apartments of 41 m² and four two-bedroom apartments of 53 m².

Further, when complete in November, Kings Blockhouse will offer 55 bachelor units of 29 m², 57 one-bedroom apartments of 42 m² and 37 two-bedroom apartments of 55 m².

“The buildings will deliver 229 new residential units to families and young professionals in the Conradie Park precinct, with apartments in both blocks being close to 100% sold at present. As will be the case throughout the precinct, there will be fibre-based WiFi available throughout, and residents will be able to avail themselves of a laundry, schools and a 22 000 m² park where visitors and residents will be able to run or walk their dogs, as well as other services such as a hair salon and convenience shopping centre,” he said.

All the units have low-flow taps and double-flush toilets, while lighting is catered for through energy efficient light-emitting diode technology.

“In the likely event of power outages, there are generators to power the larger blocks and uninterruptible power supplies for the smaller ones. A solar panel solution will be implemented into the buildings further into the Conradie Park development through Concor Construction's renewable energy division,” Schonrock said.

Meanwhile, with a development of this magnitude, the challenges are broad. In particular, unlocking the potential of Conradie Park and that of any building projects done within the precinct required a significant capital outlay to address traffic access, water supply, sewer and bulk electrical reticulation.

“Before we started on the site, we did a massive bulk infrastructure upgrade to all the surrounding roads. We built new pedestrian bridges and upgraded all the traffic intersections in the area to prepare for the future residential, commercial and retail elements. That was always a concern of the surrounding communities,” he highlighted.

Conradie Park is set to accommodate around 3 500 permanent residents once completed. Mutual Station is 400 m from the precinct and caters to both the northern and the central line. There is also easy access to taxis that leave from the station, along with Golden Arrow buses.

Further, Concor Construction is currently in discussions with MyCiti to bring one of its feeder routes closer to the development as soon as possible.

“The Conradie Park precinct development is another example of a successful public-private partnership that demonstrates how the private sector can collaborate with developers and government in redeveloping large tracts of land, thereby increasing revenues for the fiscus and stimulating local economic development. The precinct is testament to how affordable housing has evolved,” said Tuhf Cape Region regional manager Velda Derrocks.