But an out-of-court settlement with beachfront watersport clubs in December last year, after four years of wrangling in court, means the Point development can again focus on new investments.
“This project will not only have a catalytic effect on the economy of the city, but that of the province and beyond … it is a huge confidence booster,” economic development and tourism MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu says.
Durban Point Development Company project director and Laurusco Developments MD Neels Brink says that other areas of Durban where there is A-grade office space — in the Kings Park precinct and Westville, for example — are already largely fully developed. And there is no comparable site, considering, for instance, that the 50,000m² earmarked for shopping centre development borders the uShaka Marine World, the beach on the other end and a canal on another side, says Mr Brink.
The December agreement between the Durban Point Development Company, Save Vetch’s Association and Durban Paddle Ski Club allows for a new, “iconic” hotel and waterfront development at the mouth of Durban harbour. It prevents any development on Vetch’s Pier reef and preserves much of the sandy beachfront.
The Point comprises 575,000m² of mixed-use bulk property, with about 200,000m² of it sold and substantially developed. More than R1bn has been invested in the project by the private sector on buildings and other assets.
The Point Development Company is jointly owned by Malaysian-controlled RocPoint and eThekwini municipality’s Durban Infrastructural Development Trust. Laurusco has a management contract with the Point Development Company.
Mr Brink says the court action by the Save Vetch’s Association may have slowed things down by a year since investors do not usually fund developments that are facing legal disputes.
On the other hand, the court action was during the years after the 2008 global financial crisis, when large-scale property development was particularly hard hit the world over, so not much development was likely to have taken place at the Point in those years anyway.
Mr Brink says if the property market was the same as during the heydays of 2003 to 2007, the Point could be developed in five years. But that level of activity was unlikely to occur again soon and he expects the Point to be fully developed in 10 years.
The agreement means the Point’s original plans have been altered in several ways: to extend the beach by 150m to cater for three watersport clubs to operate directly off the beach; to construct a 150m waterfront development and basin; and to relocate a canal with locks.
The environmental impact assessment and town planning approvals for the waterfront are being amended to cater for the agreement, a process likely to take about six months.
Mr Brink says current activity includes the buying and selling of apartments. These are offering value at R12,000-R13,000 per square metre compared with R17,000-R18,000 per square metre from 2004-2007.
About 500 apartments have been built in the Point.
Also expected in the first half of this year is the start of construction on a hotel and a mixed-use property development in the Point, adjacent to the widened harbour mouth entrance to Durban harbour.
One of the often mentioned criticisms of the Point is the perception that it neighbours a renowned crime-and-grime area of Durban.
But Mr Brink believes this perception to be unfair.
He says that while certain parts and buildings of the city require maintenance and upgrading, access to the Point has proven to be safe over time.
Source: BDLive
