In a new take on the idea of turnkey property development, several well known players in the property arena have partnered to form Dickinson Development Solutions (DDS) - a new company which offers a comprehensive property development solution to clients who require facilities to be developed for them. These include owner-occupiers, prospective tenants, property funds and private property investors alike.
DDS is a partnership between Gavin and Grant Dickinson of Dickinson Projects, Jonathan Leibowitz of Empowered Spaces Architects and Bertus Pieters of IBP Quantity Surveyors. Gavin tells SA Property Review that the new company was conceived as a one-stop interface which provides a development turnkey solution for blue chip clients. But rather than being what could be thought of as a ‘construction turnkey solution’, DDS offers a service which extends from the client’s initial concept right through to completion.

“The fact that we offer clients a single interface means that they have a strategic opportunity to keep their eyes on their own core business, especially in these difficult times. We offer them the assurance that they can leave their developments in the capable hands of an experienced team of individuals,” he says. Essentially, the client deals with one service provider rather than many, and DDS handles all the interactions with other team members on the client’s behalf.

The partners in DDS believe that one of the key strengths in their business model is the fact that each of the four directors brings at least a decade of experience in his respective field to the company. Each partner not only has line service experience in his specific discipline, but because of the nature of the industry, he also has a broad and comprehensive understanding of the many different facets of this business. “We have an experienced team of development and professional partners who, between them, have consulted to most of the prominent property developers in South Africa. Our clients are assured that they are dealing with a strong team of experienced people,” comments Gavin. He explains that one of the key goals of this new venture is to be able to deliver top quality, cutting edge buildings via a streamlined process which begins with the conceptualisation of the project and extends right through to the delivery of a complete project which meets the client’s needs on both aesthetic and functional levels.

DDS was essentially conceived as a means of extending the service that all the partners offered into a new arena. Dickinson Projects, for example, is a specialist commercial and industrial developer which to date has developed only on its own land – a fact which ultimately translates into land and capital limitations. Dickinson Projects has a long standing working relationship with both Empowered Spaces Architects and IBP Quantity Surveyors, and with some spare capacity in the company, it seemed the ideal time to put together this new entity.

Gavin points out that although DDS is a new company, it has the benefit of being launched off the ten year old Dickinson Projects brand and the established reputations of all its partners. The combined track records and portfolios of the three different companies in which the directors are involved translates into a better likelihood of securing funding for a project, especially in the current market. Moreover, a strong and experienced management team is far better able to cope with a fast changing market and the curved balls that may come up in any given project. “Our ability to support each other in our roles is more important now than ever,” notes Gavin. Times might be tough right now, but when the market begins to turn up as it inevitably will, DDS will be well placed to run with the ball.