Developer Balwin sticks with KZN despite construction mafia - and has big plans for Gauteng

Tags

---

02-11-2022
Read : 759 times
News 24
Source

Residential estate developer Balwin is still planning to begin the construction of a new project in KwaZulu-Natal, as its competitor Calgro M3 withdraws from the province due to criminal networks.

It says that while the construction mafia did initially trouble it, it has since left its developments alone, with the group citing its own security and strong community support.

Balwin has also started its biggest development yet in Pretoria and sees opportunities in Gauteng, despite the semigration trend.

Residential developer Balwin is sticking to KwaZulu-Natal – even as competitor Calgro M3 is pulling out due to the activities the notorious construction mafia in the province.

Last month, Calgro said its employees are constantly being threatened.

But Balwin CEO, Steve Brookes, said the company is still happy with the progress of all three projects in the province.

Brookes said the company has not been immune to the harassment by the mafia, but it had strong enough security and solid community support protecting its sites, allowing it to continue construction without being forced to stop.

"I think because of that strong support from our security partners and the community, they've decided to just leave us," said Brooke.

The owner of The Blyde and Paardevlei Lifestyle Estates has three developments in Durban, which it intends to keep.

Its Ballito Hills development has sold 818 of the 1 320 units Balwin plans to build.

And its Izinga Eco Estate in Umhlanga was one of the significant contributors to the group's revenue in its half-year to end-August.

Izinga is Balwin's first Signature Collection development in KZN, the top-end of the group's estate offering. Some 338 Izinga units out of the 3 069 Balwin plans to build have already been sold.

Although the third development that the company plans in Durban is not active yet, Brookes said Balwin is only waiting to finalise some approvals and then it will start turning the sod. He believes there are still great opportunities to pursue in KZN.

Balwin also sees green shoots in KZN because of semigration. It said the trend of people moving from Gauteng to coastal areas had played a prominent role in boosting demand for its apartments in both that province and the Western Cape lately.

Although Gauteng still accounts for the highest number of apartments recognised in revenue, its contribution fell to 50% from 62% in the prior comparative period, amid the semigration trend, and sales took a hit from council utility supply challenges. 

Still, of the 56 169 apartments Balwin is building and plans to build in the next 15 years, almost 42 000 of those are in Gauteng.  

"Gauteng is still powerful. It is the financial hub of the country. It all comes down to crime and infrastructure, and we need to solve those," said Brookes.

Balwin has just started the construction of its biggest residential development in the province - in Mooikloof, Pretoria.

The Mooikloof Smart City will have close to 15 000 apartments. Balwin has already completed the show unit, and the entire show block will give potential buyers a taste of what it would be like to live in a smart city without coughing up millions of rands. Building a "city" that big has also given Balwin a chance to expand its newly found income stream – schools.

The company began branching out to education two years ago and has built five Little Hills Montessori schools within its developments. Mooikloof Smart City will get another two and a secondary school that offers digital education.

"As we roll out more developments, we see it as our moral obligation to provide good quality affordable schools to our customers, especially those buying in the green collection," said Brookes.

The green collection is the most affordable category in the Balwin lifestyle estate, with apartments priced from R599 900. This is the area where the developer is growing rapidly and where most of its development pipeline is focused. Mooikloof Smart City is one of those.

But Balwin is not necessarily slowing down on its costlier estates either. It will soon open its second man-made lagoon in the Waterfall City, in Midrand, in December. A third one is already lined up in Thaba Eco Village in the south of Johannesburg.

Brookes said Johannesburg and the rest of Gauteng still offer opportunities for both developers catering to well-heeled buyers and affordable housing. So, Balwin plans to roll out even more lagoons in the province.