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- Growthpoint Properties will convert its 35 000m2 Riverwoods office park into a resort with luxury apartments.
- The company has partnered with Setso Property Fund and BlackBrick Hotels, which have converted offices in Sandton.
- Once Riverwoods is converted into a resort, Growthpoint will sell its investment in it.
South Africa's biggest listed property company, Growthpoint Properties, has teamed up with BlackBrick Hotels and office parks developer Setso Property Fund to convert a luxury office park into swanky apartments.
The owner of the V&A Waterfront said the residential conversion of its Riverwoods office park in Bedfordview will cost R200 million.
The 35 000m2 office park has over 10 000m2 of lettable space. The last two sets of Growthpoint's annual results did not show Riverwoods vacancy rate as some of the company's office parks, especially in Midrand, were left almost empty after the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Growthpoint said the decision to convert the Riverwoods office park was a response to the surplus of office space in the market and the scarcity of residential space, especially for the new and upcoming generation of first-time buyers.
"It aims to make a positive contribution to society and the environment, reducing urban sprawl and carbon emissions by eliminating both new land and energy use," said Growthpoint about the conversion.
The Riverwoods consists of six two-storey buildings. After the conversion, they will house 250-plus studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. These will include serviced long- and short-stay residential units in a hotel and residential sectional title units.
It will have a large, lush social central courtyard with iconic water features, a clubhouse, pool, collaborative workspace and many more amenities that seem to come with these office conversions.
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Once the redevelopment is complete, Growthpoint will exit its investment in Riverwoods.
"As part of our ongoing asset management, we frequently evaluate the properties in our portfolio and consider all options to unlock the best value from our assets. There is no recipe, no single solution, so we take care to find the right approach unique to every building," said Growthpoint's head of asset management, Paul Kollenberg.
While analysts have in the past pointed out that not every empty office building lends itself to residential conversion, Growthpoint said the Riverwoods requires little alteration and no additional development bulk to become someone's home.
Also, Growthpoint's partners in this venture, Setso and BlackBrick, specialise in office-to-residential conversions. They've successfully converted two office parks on Fredman Drive in Sandton.
BlackBrick said it is building a network of villages for "free-minded global citizens". The company, which has hotels in Sandton and Cape Town, is expanding across a growing network of cities locally and globally, including Umhlanga and now Bedfordview.
"We are exceptionally excited to be adding this BlackBrick resort edition to the collection. Bedfordview is a special project for us with its vast open spaces and green forest setting. We have been able to really turn up the resort facilities here with some new additions such as Padel Tennis, Volleyball a Trail Running Track, and a few other surprises," said BlackBrick MD, Moritz Wellensiek.
The companies will launch BlackBrick Bedford residential on 5 March 2022.
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