Black economic empowerment icon Cyril Ramaphosa has snapped up a chunk of land in Soweto's Diepkloof Zone 3 to build a R60 million multipurpose neighbourhood complex.
The development will give one of the most desolate squatter camps in the country's largest township a virtual face-lift, in line with similar revamps under way in the dormitory town.
The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) revealed on its website this week that it had signed development reservation agreements with a black economic empowerment subsidiary called Grendelton Investments.
The property investment company is a joint venture between Ramaphosa's Millennium Consolidated Investments, which was this week renamed Shanduka Group, and McCormick Property Development.
The JPC said the development would see a major capital inflow to pull together 15 000m2 of unproductive land in Diepkloof, to create what would eventually be a swanky new-world complex called Diepkloof Plaza.
"We have agreed on a 15 000m2 shopping centre, to be anchored by Shoprite. The Diepkloof Neighbourhood Centre will comprise a 60-unit residential complex and a home for Hospice Soweto," the JPC said.
"Multiple utilities will be situated on land formerly occupied by the Mandelaville informal settlement all around Immink Drive, Jack Klipin Road and Eben Cuyler Drive in Diepkloof Extension 3."
Fresh from a landmark empowerment deal three weeks ago with Standard Bank, Ramaphosa said this week that Soweto, of all places in South Africa, needed the investment.
"These developments are long overdue in Soweto. The township has long remained on the back burner of property investment and self-sustainability.
"This is our way of making property stock in the township tradeable," he said.
While he was born in Soweto, Ramaphosa said he did not live in the suburb any more.
But the township offered massive potential for black economic empowerment investments in all spheres, including property development, the transport and service industries, and the retail and consumer sectors.
Shanduka is primarily involved in asset management and development and it recently acquired a majority stake in Property Fund Managers, the asset manager of the Capital Property Fund.
Ramaphosa, who is an ANC executive member, defended the South African empowerment drive at a press conference in Johannesburg this week, rejecting accusations that it benefited only a few politically connected individuals.
"We are very entrepreneurial, driven. We look for opportunities to invest in. We are looking to new opportunities where we can move in with broader consortiums," he said.
The residents of Soweto would benefit by having their long-neglected infrastructure improved, encouraging new landscaping and architecture.
Above all, employment would be provided for hundreds of jobless youths as commercial and retail investments moved into the new development.
This marks Shanduka's first foray into the development arena, with a particular emphasis on state-owned land where public-private partnerships can be pursued.
The sprawling Greater Soweto area is easily the largest conglomerate of townships in South Africa, comprising vast peri-urban extensions of 143 subdivisions, all crammed into 153km2 of land.
Although the township has been referred to as a city within a city, the Johannesburg city council admits that land use and development in the township is largely the result of restricted apartheid-era legislation that regulated and controlled development, resulting in distorted land use.
Earlier this year the Johannesburg city council entered the second stage of a multimillion-rand land survey project, which seeks to unlock large tracts of idle farmland in Soweto and turn them into modern infrastructural developments of thriving property and commercial business.
On completion, Soweto will have at least 30 new exclusive extensions of mansions and villas. The 1 500 "train shops" operating in the area would be pulled down, and vacant farmland revitalised into a self-sustaining regional economy for the township's estimated 1 million residents.
In a statement, JPC, which is responsible for managing property development in Soweto, said it had entered into the agreement with Ramaphosa's Shanduka on the strength of his business acumen and connectedness, as well as his commitment to empowerment.
Another wholly owned black economic empowerment close corporation, Sirad Properties, would invest R17 million to develop 60 simplex units alongside the Diepkloof Neighbourhood Centre.
This is believed to be the first attempt to introduce the town house concept in Soweto.
"The 90m2 units, of a type previously unknown in Soweto, will offer high-quality finishes and will add value to the entire precinct and surrounding areas," the company said.
On completion, Diepkloof Plaza would see the development of two main anchors, one of which would be a 2 500m2 modern shopping complex complete with parking facilities.
The design allowed for two "island blocks" comprising banks and smaller shops, around which the rest of the centre would be wrapped.
The centre would be a pedestrian friendly, landscaped and treed mall containing a food court as well as a lifestyle, entertainment and leisure component.
The JPC said that to complement the development, it had awarded an development agreement to the Hospice Association of the Witwatersrand for a R8 million Soweto Hospice on a third section of the site.
The 7 900m2 development would allow the hospice to expand by at least 300 percent and consolidate its services in the greater Soweto to complement Hospice Soweto, which runs palliative care services for hundreds of people from its Mofolo premises.
Leila McKenna, the managing director of JPC, welcomed the interest in Soweto shown by developers.
"The fact that seven viable proposals for the development of the neighbourhood shopping centre were received from well-established developers clearly indicates a growing commitment to economic development in Soweto," said McKenna.
The developers have until February to finalise their proposals, obtain necessary approvals and resolve implementation issues. Thereafter, the JPC will consider the proposals and award final agreements.
On-site work is scheduled to begin next March and is expected to be completed in early 2006. - Johannesburg