The renowned 2 200-ha Waterfall precinct in Midrand, Gauteng, has officially been rebranded as Waterfall City.

Waterfall Management Company CEO Willie Vos told Engineering News on a tour of the city on October 3 that the reason for the rebrand was, on the one hand, to consolidate the branding of the sprawling developments under a cohesive and trademarked banner that will prevent “piggybackers” from usurping the Waterfall brand for their own purposes, and on the other hand to acknowledge how far the now mixed use development has come.

Waterfall City is home to the renowned Mall of Africa and other shopping centres, as well as numerous residential developments of varying sizes, several hotels, schools, hospitals, business parks, logistics hubs and numerous other shopping centres and recreational destinations.

“It has truly become a city now. Across the globe, cities are synonymous with greatness and play a significant part in history. For us, it’s a dream come true to be called a city,” Vos said.

Notable among the developments is the R9-billion Munyaka residential development, comprising 5 178 apartment units surrounding a three hectare man-made lagoon to simulate beach-side living. This is the largest single sectional title residential development of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

The third of the Ellipse residential towers adjacent to the mall of Africa will be finished by the end of next year, with construction of a fourth tower scheduled to begin before the end of this year.

Over the past decade, Waterfall City has been recognised as a world‐class metropolitan city through numerous international awards, as it provides an attractive lifestyle in a smart, secure and connected environment.

The Waterfall City has become a new economic hub in Gauteng to rival the well-established hubs of Sandton and the Johannesburg central business district.

“By formally including City in our name, we can now emphasise the true purpose of the development, which is to bring people together in a dynamic urban environment, where they can thrive – a world-class smart city,” Vos said.

The new Waterfall City brand is based on several newly stated cornerstones: connection, commerce, care and community.

The convenient location of Waterfall City, along with its future-proofed infrastructure, fibre optic and wireless communication network, as well as its comprehensive road network and range of public transportation options, provide “connection”.

An additional Gautrain station is also planned for Waterfall City, between the Midrand and Marlboro stations.

Meanwhile, the growing economic hub of international and local blue-chip brands making the city their home speaks to the “commerce” cornerstone. This cornerstone covers the city’s commercial developments, which includes office buildings and business parks, retail centres, logistics and distribution hubs, and four hotels.

Waterfall City is also designed to be safe and sustainable, which represents the “care” cornerstone.

Finally, the community cornerstone Waterfall City is home to multiple exclusive residential estates of varying degrees of cost, ranging from estates with simple entry level houses sold for about R500 000 each to large homes at the Waterfall Equestrian Estate valued at up to R150-million.

Vos explained that the multiple residential options represented multi-generational living, education, and the positioning of Waterfall City is a lifestyle destination.

"Waterfall City’s award-winning hub of collaboration, innovation, sustainability and best-in-class infrastructure, with access to great amenities, forms a central part of [Waterfall City developer] Attacq’s growth strategy and has rapidly developed into a true lifestyle and blue-chip business destination between the metropolises of Johannesburg and Pretoria. This brand launch represents a major milestone for us,” Attacq CEO Jackie van Niekerk said.

Waterfall City has been recognised four times between 2017 and 2020 as the best mixed-use development globally by the International Property Awards and has been further identified as the best mixed-use development in South Africa and Africa seven times.