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Durban - A new R157m green office development by Growthpoint Properties in Umhlanga’s Ridgeside precinct is nearing completion and has become Durban’s first 5-Star Green Star SA rated building.
Construction on the P-Grade (premium) 6 680m² building, with views of the Indian Ocean, began in June 2014, and is set to be complete by December 2015. Originally targeting a 4-Star Green Star SA office building rating, Growthpoint has been notified by the Green Building Council SA that the development had in fact secured a 5-Star Green Star SA – Office v1 Design Rating.
“This is a great achievement and will serve as a green building beacon in greater Durban and KwaZulu-Natal,” said Greg de Klerk, KZN Regional Head of Growthpoint Properties.
Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties' office division director said the company's Lincoln on the Lake and Mayfair on the Lake office buildings in the Parkside precinct of Umhlanga New Town Centre were pioneering green building developments in the Growthpoint portfolio.
"We have come a long way and now have 23 Green Star SA rated buildings in our portfolio countrywide and several more under development, which have been submitted or will be submitted to the GBCSA for Green Star certification,” said Pienaar.
“The Lincoln on the Lake office development secured the first 4-Star Green Star SA As-Built rating for a multi-tenanted office building in South Africa back in 2012."
De Klerk added that, when it comes to thriving office nodes in Durban, there’s a continued move by business north into Umhlanga Ridgeside, Umhlanga New Town Centre and La Lucia Ridge. These nodes are experiencing the highest levels of office development in Durban.
Around 50 000m² of office space will come to market over the next year in these nodes, of which about a third is being developed by Growthpoint.
In addition to its Lincoln on the Lake and Mayfair on the Lake office buildings, Growthpoint is investing R117.3m in another 5 500m² new green office development, named The Boulevard, in the Parkside precinct of Umhlanga which will be completed in April 2016. Upon completion, The Boulevard will make up a city block of green buildings in Umhlanga New Town Centre, providing A-Grade office space of 20 000m².
In line with its green building focus, Growthpoint's Bayside Mall in Tableview, Cape Town, has just scooped the 2015 Energy Efficiency Forum Award for the Large Building Retrofit Category, raising the bar for energy efficiency at shopping centres in the Mother City and across the country.
Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties, said winning this award shows it is on the right track to achieve its own green goals and he hopes it serves to inspire others to do the same, going beyond what’s required.
