Pretoria to sprawl even further east

Pretoria is to get a new "nodal development" located in the east of the city with a projected budget of R44 billion.

Developers are hard at work to meet the 2020 deadline for Hazeldean, the latest multibillion rand development in the city.

Development manager Hendrik van Zyl said the project had already received support from the local, provincial and national authorities.

He said various national and international retail outlets had expressed an interest in the planned 100 000sqm Hazeldean shopping mall, which would be developed at a cost of R2.2bn. "The Hazeldean development has received great support from the City of Tshwane, for which we are grateful. We are confident of meeting our deadline."

The East Capital, as Hazeldean is known, has been envisioned as a self-sufficient live, learn, grow, work and play eco-friendly suburban precinct. The so-called "full circle living" lifestyle to be offered by the 950ha mega city, the planning of which started in 2006, is becoming increasingly sought-after, developers say. The lifestyle includes shops, offices and much more right at the doorstep, thereby eliminating the need to spend hours commuting each day.

The vision of the developers is to create a home for young and old in an eco-friendly, park-like environment.

The new city will be accessed from the N4 through a new R90 million road - the PWV17 - which will link the N4 and the R21. The infrastructure funding has been approved for the planned road upgrade for the N4 to link to Graham Road directly. The interchange will be situated between the Solomon Mahlangu and Boschkop off-ramps and forms part of the PWV17.

Construction of the first phase of the road, known as Hazeldean Boulevard, is planned to begin towards the end of this year subject to municipal environmental approvals.

The Hazeldean Consortium master plan includes a mall, hospitals, educational facilities, retail and hospitality and tourism components.

The consortium is in negotiations with the Gautrain Management Agency to motivate a station for the rapid rail system in Hazeldean as part of the next phase of for the transport system.

There is also a plan to request extension of the City of Tshwane's A Re Yeng bus transit service.

To attract new home buyers, a few residential complexes are being built in the vicinity. Some have already been completed.

They include the first phases of The Ridge Estate, as well as the Retreat Retirement Estate. The residential developments in Oukraal are scheduled for launch in the third roll-outs quarter of this year, while The Meadows Estate has been completed.

Hazeldean will provide an additional 11 000 residential dwellings, which includes a secure lifestyle estate with educational facilities. Future plans include a 40 000sqm office building and more than 800 000sqm of commercial floor space.

Also in the pipeline is the development floor area allocated to a mix of commercial, primary, secondary and tertiary education. Facilities such as Curro Hazeldean primary school and college are expanding. The next product in the Curro stable, Curro Castles nursery school, is being planned at Hazeldean.

On the cards is also a tertiary institution.

Van Zyl said the new roads would alleviate the traffic issues experienced in the eastern parts of the city.

"This, in turn, will inject renewed interest in investment, thanks to ease of movement and a vibrant energy that this is sure to come to the area," he said.

Pretoria News