Rawson Properties’ Paarl franchise has secured the joint mandate to sell homes in the new Oude Chardonnay lifestyle village on the banks of the Berg River in Paarl. This lifestyle and health estate is designed to attract a wide spectrum of buyers from all age groups.
Features of the development which are likely to attract buyers are the facts that:
- It is only two minutes’ drive from the town centre
- It has easy access to the N1
- It is only 700 metres from the sophisticated new Paarl Mall shopping complex
- The estate will be secured with electrified fencing
- Access control with guards will operate on a 24/7 basis
- The resort is animal friendly and small pets are welcome
- Each freehold house of the first phase will be fitted with an air-conditioner unit free of charge
- Two hectares of landscaped gardens will be available exclusively to residents, enabling them to make the most of the beautiful surroundings.
The development aims, by means of a phased schedule, to establish about 350 residential properties within the next two years. The first phase of the project will have 40 erven, each of which will have one freehold unit. Work is now in progress on 11 of these homes, most of which are at roof height and the rest are scheduled to follow soon.
Four different homes are on offer in this phase and all types will include a single garage. Three bedroom units from approximately 116 m2 to 128 m2 in size are available at a starting price of R1,395,000, transfer costs and agent’s commission included. A less expensive two bedroom option is also available. All four major banks are on board with financing packages and 100% bonds are available to approved buyers.
Lizette Joubert, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for Paarl, has commented that the Contemporary Cape Dutch Architecture style of these homes is “totally appropriate” to the Boland: the homes will have straight line gables with simple plaster mouldings around the windows. The finishes will include granite countertops in the kitchens and Defy ovens and hobs. Buyers will have a choice of colours for the cupboards, the tiling in the kitchens and living areas and the carpeting in the bedrooms.
Joubert said that the prices at Oude Chardonnay are significantly below those of the average Paarl home selling today. In this town at the moment, she said, the average home is priced between R1,5 million and R1,6 million and many of these are old and need modifications.
“The low prices of this new development are a great achievement on the part of the developer,” she said, “because elsewhere new building prices in South Africa are still some 20% to 25% above used home prices.”
The developer, Mr P van den Heever, has indicated that the handover of the homes will take place within three months of approval being given for the finance and for the plans (by the municipality), although it is possible, he said, that adverse weather could delay schedules by two or three weeks.
Shortly after the launch of the initial phase, the developer will go ahead on the site with a fully equipped upmarket medical centre, which will be open not only residents but also to the public. The 3,000 m2 centre, on which work will begin around August, will have 104 assisted living units, an emergency room, paraplegic bathrooms, an emergency lift and frail care rooms (eight for males and eight for females).
Included in this section of the development will be a restaurant, a lounge and a bar, a hair salon, a library and laundry facilities and these will be communal areas open to all residents.
“The Oude Chardonnay development with its near-perfect peaceful location, mountain views, transport services, large gardens and medical facilities caters perfectly for all the needs of the retired person or the young family. What is more, the development is coming to the market at exactly the right time because there is a dire shortage of houses in Paarl.”
Van den Heever has emphasized that one of the big advantages of Oude Chardonnay will be its comprehensive security. As indicated, the estate will have enclosing circumference walls with an electrified top and will be entered via a gatehouse manned on a 24/7 basis. It will also have patrol guards operating in the grounds around the clock.
