Rawson Developers are by far the most ‘visible and active’ developers in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs - for the simple reason that some years back they identified areas in which demand would be strong and high density developments would be allowed, says Paul Henry, Managing Director of Rawson Developers.
“Some years ago we went on an active campaign to acquire suitable sites in Rondebosch and Claremont and this has very definitely paid off,” said Henry.
Listing Rawson Developers’ complete or current developments over the last three years, Henry mentioned:
· The 265 unit ‘Rondebosch Oaks’ in Albion Road, where the second phase has recently been completed and where the sales response on both phases was very rapid.
· The 160 unit ‘The Rondebosch’ in Belmont Road, diagonally opposite the suburb’s historic central fountain and across the road from its main shopping centre. The building is now complete.
· The 84 unit ‘River’s Edge’ alongside the Liesbeek Canal.
· The 40 unit ‘Riversong’ development in Haldane Road on the banks of the Liesbeek Canal, where Rawson Developers’ contracting team is now moving onto the third floor.
All these developments, said Henry, are either completely sold out or about to reach that position and Rawson Developers are now moving onto other developments for which land has, in every case, been acquired.
These are:
· ‘The Beaumont’ on the corner of Brooke Road and Grove Avenue (next to St Saviour’s Church) in Claremont. This innovative development, which will be equal in height to the tallest building in Claremont, will be launched on the 1st of December and will have 174 apartments and five penthouse suites. These will be in two blocks, laid out in an ‘H’ configuration, one of which will be 12 storeys high and one five storeys high.
“Demand for The Beaumont’s apartments has been almost unprecedented in our experience,” said Henry, “the reason probably being that prices are similar to those of our previous developments to date. With a starting price of R669,000 for a bachelor pad, the units are accessible to a very wide range of buyers.”
· A seven storey block, as yet unnamed, on the eastern side of the Rondebosch Main Road. This development is only 100 metres from the Rawson Property Group’s Head Office and is, said Henry, less than a kilometre from UCT.
“No more suitable student accommodation site could be found,” he said.
· A new development at the Marist Sports Club in Park Road one the eastern side of Rondebosch. This will be known as ‘The Oval’ because it overlooks the club’s cricket grounds. After long negotiations with the City Council and local residents, a final design of 41 units has been approved. These are priced from R 2,950,000 and will come up for sale during 2013.
Moving away from the Cape Peninsula’s Southern Suburbs, Rawson Developers have also just completed the 74 unit ‘Olive Grove’ security complex at Grassy Park and are now launching ‘The Acorns’ at Stellenbosch, only 400m from the university’s campus. The launch date here is set for the 19th of November. This building will have 42 units and will be the first student-style accommodation in Stellenbosch designed to be 100% suitable for disabled people.
Henry said that Rawson Developers’ designs are innovative, but always cost-effective. They incorporate good materials and reduce wasted space to a minimum. For these and other reasons they are always appreciated by buyers, especially investors who, on average, comprise 60% of their client base.
“Equally important to our clients, however,” said Henry, “is the fact that we do take our after sales service very seriously indeed. Our site teams, most of whom are fairly young, are taught that ‘the client is king’ and that snag lists must be attended to as promptly as possible. This has, I believe, given us a good reputation, which is being spread by word-of-mouth throughout the greater Cape Town area – and this pleases me.”
Current and proposed projects, said Henry, are lined up to keep Rawson Developers active in their chosen areas for at least another four years.
