Sunninghill may be referred to as a multi-function suburb. It once was an area of wide-open spaces, but these have filled up rapidly over the last few years with top-end residential developments, gated estates and active business areas. The suburb is now a popular choice of residence for business folk who wish to live close to the office. “Sunninghill is also conveniently situated for those who work in Midrand or the Sandton area,” says Leon Breytenbach, National Manager of the Rawson Property Group’s commercial division, “with Johannesburg CBD only about 25 minutes away the M1/ N1 forms the suburb’s southern boundary and with the N3, offers excellent motor routes, as well as easy access to the R101. The K60 runs through the area creating an alternative route to help cope with heavy traffic. Both OR Tambo and Lanseria airports may be reached in approximately half an hour. The suburbs of Kyalami, Woodmead and Rivonia are adjacent to Sunninghill. Municipal buses and minibus taxis are plentiful on main roads.
Commercial property
Sunninghill has many office parks amongst which are Sunninghill Office Park, The Crescent and Unisys Park. Shopping centres include The Square, Sunninghill Shopping Centre, Chilli Lane and The Core. The SAPOA Office Vacancy Report for the third Quarter of 2016 shows that Sunninghill has 351,610 square metres of office space, of which 171.551 is A grade and 180,059 square metres is B grade. There is presently, only an amount of 24644 square metres available for leasing, of which 16788 square metres is A grade and 7856 square metres is B grade. The average asking price for A grade rentals is R86 per square metre while B grade is at an affordable R80 per square metre.
The current office vacancy rate stands at 7.0%, showing a slight rise from nine months ago when it was 6.1%. The SAPOA report explains that, Unlet new developments hold a potential downside risk of impact on vacancy rates.”
New development
Sunninghill having 2.9% of new developments , is ranked third place in South Africa after Sandton and Waterfall. However, with new developments coming onto the market in the near future this could push the vacancy rate to an estimated 12.8%, which could threaten short to medium term rental growth, according to the SAPOA report. It seems the area has 23,191 square metres of approved developments in progress which should come onto the market fairly soon. “Of this amount, none has been pre-leased,” explains Breytenbach, “so unless there is a ready supply of new tenants, this may generate the rental growth problem, as suggested in the report.”
Present tenants
“Despite the threat of higher vacancy leading to lower rentals,” Breytenbach assures us that, “there are many big companies already established in Sunninghill.” For example, Eskom is located in Megawatt Park. RCI, Acer, Unisys and Price Waterhouse Coopers are also in the area. Retailers are drawn from a wide spectrum, with Pick ‘n Pay, Woolworths and Virgin Active Gym located in Chilli Lane, along with many other small to medium retailers. In Sunninghill Shopping centre, Woolworths and Spar are the main anchor tenants while Checkers and Cash Converters are located in The Square Centre.
Other amenities
Specialist entities like the Johannesburg Chef’s School have settled in Sunninghill, while Netcare is represented in the Sunninghill Hospital. “St. Peter’s College, a private co-ed secondary school, is situated in College Lane on the perimeter of Megawatt Park” says Breytenbach, “and Leeuwkop Golf Club is only about 4.5 kilometres away. ”
It seems that Sunninghill offers good-value commercial property with a possibility of affordable rental. It has the big town vibe and accessibility to all necessary amenities.
Rawson Commercial has offices countrywide and we will gladly assist you with all your commercial needs. Contact (021) 658 7100.
