Pinelands, is a residential suburb on the edge of the southern suburbs of Cape Town, it is distinctly known for English-style thatched rooves and an abundance of trees lining its circular roads and drives. As the first garden city in South Africa, Pinelands was initially founded as a pine tree plantation, which while proved unsuccessful, opened the way for the area’s design in 1920. Now it’s one of the city’s most sought after suburbs and houses a varied demographic of retirees and young professionals.
It borders other prominent suburbs like Mowbray, Observatory and Rondebosch – and is dissected north to south by the main road Forest Drive. Given its location, and easy accessibility, the trip to landmarks of note, like the Cape Town City Centre, are short and unobstructed. In fact it takes only 10 minutes to reach the CBD and – If you head in the opposite direction (east) – the airport is also only a 10 minute drive, lying some 14km away. In terms of public transport, on the southwestern edge of the suburb you’ll find the pinelands train station, and the MyCiti and Golden Arrow bus services both have routes leading through the area. The suburb also has its own taxi rank on the northern most edge right next to the Old Mutual building.
Being a residential area, the suburb is home to notable retail opportunities, but remains one of Cape Town’s most popular office locations. It offers office space for both grades A and B – and sports a total rentable area of 237,716m2, of which more than four-fifths belong to grade A. The suburb has one of the lowest vacancy rates in Cape Town – second only to the Waterfront – at 2.1%. Grade A offices are particularly sought after in Pinelands, as is seen in its low vacancy rate of 0.7%. The average gross cost for rental space is on par with areas like Century City and the Cape Town CBD when it comes to grade A offices (R140/m2). However, grade B offices, which clocks in at R108/m2, remains cheaper than any other suburb cited in the SAPOA 2017 April report, except for Bellville. Being a mature, popular office node, the suburb does not present abundant opportunities for greenfield developments which, according to the report, could underpin short term rental growth.
A Lightstone report on Pinelands recorded 2,675 (63.86%) freehold properties in the suburb, and an average household income of R70,000-R90,000 in 2017. As stated in the report, from June 2016 to May 2017, Pinelands saw 119 developed freehold repeat sales, averaging close to R3,500,000 per property. In 2016 alone the suburb had 164 new freehold properties registered, alongside 42 sectional schemes. Over the same one-year period, repeat sales of sectional scheme properties – of which there was 45 – averaged R1,075,000.
Notable schools in the area include Pinelands Primary and High School, Pinehurst Primary, independent school Cannons Creek, and Pinelands North Primary School. The most popular shopping centre in the area is Howard Centre, which is home to national and international brands like Clicks; Pick n Pay; Capitec, FNB and Standard Bank; and fast-food giant McDonalds. A number of the bigger employers in Cape Town, i.e. Old Mutual, are also based in Pinelands – as is Vincent Pallotti Hospital.
In terms of recreational activities in the area, there are plenty of parks strewn throughout Pinelands – and given the peaceful, tranquil nature of the suburb, walks through its winding streets are highly encouraged. Residents and visitors can also pay a visit to Oude Molen Eco Village where you’ll find lovely cafes and horse riding activities. And just over the Swartrivier is the South African Astronomical Observatory if stargazing is your thing. Additionally, the Mowbray golf course is only about five minutes away (2km).
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