INVESTORS have already taken up 65% of units in Century Square, a R80 million sectional title office development on which construction has started at Century City.
Mark Harries, a director of developers Harries Projects, says the most sales previously recorded on their projects ahead of construction starting was 45%.
"Demand has been exceptional. Among our buyers are three firms of accountants, three firms of financial consultants and two top Cape Town property investors and developers who have taken a position at Century Square because they perceive the upside to be so big and the site to be premium."
Harries says with interest rates coming off it is now possible for owner/ occupiers to repay 100% bonds over their own premises on less than they were paying in rental.
"There is no doubt the only thing holding back this segment of the market has been interest rates. With the further downward trend we expect demand from the owner occupier market to soar," he says.
Construction of Century Square, which began on a site overlooking Century City's award winning wetlands last month, is due for completion in August 2002 with first occupations set for June next year. The project is being financed by Cape of Good Hope Bank.
Harries says the site is outstanding, offering the best of both worlds - a strong corporate environment boasting the regional offices of leading blue-chip companies combined with uninterrupted views of Intaka Island, Century City's nature conservation area which is rich in birdlife and indigenous flora. The building, he says, will capitalise on its canal side position with most of the units having canal frontage and views of both the wetlands and Table Mountain.
Century Square is one of three new office blocks under construction at Century City which has rapidly become a premier office node in the Western Cape and home to among others, Vodacom, Pricewater-houseCoopers, PQ Africa, Nashua, Discovery Health, Glenrand MIB, Decillion Ltd, Old Mutual, Telkom, Hewlett Packard, MINT, Computer Sciences Corporation, Unisys, SAP Southern Africa, Computer Associates, Konica and SIP Project Managers.
Also under construction at Century City is a new high-tech development, Knowledge Park, aimed at information technology users which comes on stream later this year and new head offices for Amvia (formerly Voicematics) which is being built on the North Bank across the canal from Canal Walk shopping centre.
In addition new headquarters for the Louis Group, which has purchased three sites at Century City, are nearing completion and work has begun on a motor showroom site close by.