Phase 2 of the vital link road between Beacon Bay and Gonubie awaits a slick of tar, and then it is ready to go.
The road heralds the start of land-starved East London’s newest super suburb, lying in the Quenera River valley between the Beacon Bay and Gonubie hills, and stretching 7km from the N2 to Bonza Beach.
Sandili Sojini, head of the Buffalo City Metro project implementation unit, said the last two phases were in the three-year budget plan and would likely come through in the 2019-2020 draft budget.
“It depends on BCM finances. When the money is available, we are ready to go.
“The designs are all in place and the permissions granted.”
The first development of 15ha for 200 homes in the Quenera spatial plan is developer UPM’s The Cycad Retirement Village (Cycad), a seniors’ village bordering the N2 and straddling the Quenera River. Preliminary work has started, said town planning consultant Deon Poortman, who is a spokesperson for UPM.
“Aside from finalising the environmental impact assessment, which is under way, all the permissions are in place.
“Consent from the department of agriculture, which is always a time-consuming process, was not necessary.”
He said the area had been approved for development by the old East London Transitional Local Council.
The village has gross lettable area of 11,000m². Much of the 15ha is reserved for natural bush and riverine forest.
Brian Kinnear, founder of Fresh Property Lifestyles, is a shareholder in a large tract of land in phase 2, on a hill on the Gonubie side of the Quenera.
“We are ready to develop, but need BCM to get the bulk works [electricity, sewers, water] in place.
“Agriculture [department] must also rezone the land.
“People could live there within two years.”
Grant Wheatley, a director of Novate Properties said the new suburb would comprise of 30,000 homes, with pockets of businesses at regular intervals on the spine link road.
He said the suburb would be bigger than Gonubie and a “similar size to Beacon Bay”.
He said they still had some hectares “in the bank” from their first 40-hectares used for the hospital and apartment projects in phase 1.
“Our developments in the first phase include the Life hospital, several office complexes and apartments. It cost R500m-plus.
“We used around 40 hectares and still have some in the bank.
“Its success is a template for the area. Homes in the new suburb will generate over R15m rates monthly, with commercial rates adding a further R15m.”
One development, which has waited a long time for the road is Bonza Views, which was developed 10 ten years ago by the late Rod and Doug Kunhardt.
Investors bought 160 out of 260 stands. It commands the prime spot on the future road, with stands on the river, lagoon and overlooking the beach.
“As with several owners of large properties on the [still-to-be-built] road, the incentive to buy, and in our case develop, was the promise of imminent road construction,” said Rod’s daughter Kendyl Kunhardt, a shareholder in the development.
“It’s taken a long time, but there is a definite sense of urgency.”
“We have had several offers to sell the development over the years, and they are picking up steam, but we want to create a community, and selling is not on the radar.”..