Illovo is a popular, up-market suburb of Sandton, flanked by Sandhurst, Craighall Park and Hyde Park. Wanderers Stadium, which hosts many local and international cricket matches is located within the suburb, as is the Wanderers Golf Course well-known as a top class, par 72 course of international standard. “The amenities in Illovo are well supplemented by those in the surrounding suburbs, ensuring availability of almost any retail, educational, medical or entertainment facility within close proximity,” says Leon Breytenbach, National Manager of the Rawson Property Group’s commercial division.
Location and access
Illovo is situated 11 kilometres from the Johannesburg CBD, three and a half kilometres from Sandton City or 49 kilometres from Pretoria CBD. The suburb has access to four airports; OR Tambo International at a distance of 28 kilometres while Lanseria International is 33 kilometres away. “Grand Central and Rand private airports lie at a distance of 22 and 29 kilometres respectively, both permitting private charter flights; a bonus for any businessman owning a corporate aircraft,” Breytenbach suggests. The suburban road grid is efficient, allowing easy access to arterial roads such as Corlett Drive, Rivonia Road or Oxford Road, all of which intersect the area. In turn these roads make the N1 or N3 highways easily accessible. Both the Metrobus as well as the Gautrain bus routes run through the area, while the ever-present minibus taxis are freely available.
Commercial property
Besides the Thrupp’s Illovo Centre, Illovo Square, or Illovo Muse Centre, there are other retail complexes within the suburb. Eateries abound in all the shopping or lifestyle centres, from high-end restaurants to trendy, intimate or family style bistros. “Illovo boasts several office parks like the Wanderers Office Park, Regulus Illovo or Illovo Boulevard, the latter having some excellent coffee shops nearby, useful for a quick snack or a meet-and-eat,” advises Breytenbach. There is also office space located on upper floors of some of the malls. Illovo is home to a number of corporate head offices including Motorola SA (Pty) Ltd., Amani Spas, Implats, Life Healthcare Group, The Walt Disney Company Africa in addition to Look & Listen.
The SAPOA Office Vacancy Report for July 2017 shows that Illovo has a total of 222 216 square metres of office space made up of 22 600 square metres of prime, 172 452 square metres of A grade as well as 27 164 square metres of B grade space. Of this, there is currently no prime space available for rent, but 19 596 square metres of A grade and 27 164 square metres of B grade space were available at the time the report was published. The average rental cost for office space is presently R160 for A grade or R150 for B grade per square metre. There are no registered new developments pending at the present time.
Amenities
Besides prolific shopping opportunities within or adjacent to Illovo, it is also a popular, attractive residential suburb. There are few educational entities situated within the boundaries of the suburb, these being Fairways Primary School in addition to the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science or GIBS. However, excellent government or private schools of all levels, as well as tertiary colleges, are available in the adjacent suburbs. “Local or international cricket and golf are found at Wanderers, while gyms are situated in some of the retail malls,” says Breytenbach. Doctors or dentists are well represented in Illovo but hospitals should be sourced in adjacent areas, A number of entertainment facilities are located within the malls,
Having many amenities, Illovo is able to offer residents or corporates a wide variety of all the requirements of modern day life. Similarly, the suburb is in a favourable location for access to other commercial or industrial areas. “The commercial property is of a high calibre; a good area for investment or corporate relocation,” concludes Breytenbach.
