The Western Cape commercial office market has taken off strongly as evidenced at Century City where all 35 000 square metres of office land in a new showcase office park was snapped up within a 24-hour period.

Greg Deans, managing director of Century City Property Developments, said the rate of sales was unprecedented and development had not even gone to a general public release.

"In all our years in property development we have never seen anything like it in the commercial property market," he said.

To be known as The Estuaries, the office park comprises a total of 18 erven, each with a developable bulk of between 1000 and 4500 square metres. Parcels of land have been sold to predominantly owner occupiers from R1800 a bulk metre.

Deans said that The Estuaries was currently the only tract of land comprising individual erven available for office development at Century City and had filled a gap in the market for small to medium-size development opportunities.

Owner occupiers who have purchased include CIB Insurance, eTradex and De Vos Paxton Inc Consulting Engineers. Among the developers who have purchased sites are Granbuild which has already secured purchasers or tenants for three quarters of their building.

Douglas Donnelly of Gauteng-based CIB Insurance said they would be developing an 1800 square metre regional head office on their site from where they would spearhead their expansion into the Western Cape.

"We have looked at number of sites but nothing could match Century City in terms of location, accessibility and the level of infrastructure and amenities offered. Century City has become the choice location for a growing number of leading companies but we are not just adopting a herd mentality; our decision to locate at Century City is based on very sound reasons," he said.

Louise Wiggett of software development company eTradex said they were "over the moon" with their purchase and would be occupying their entire building of 1000 square metres.

"After five moves in 10 years we have eventually found a home for our company and it could not be better. It is a fantastic location and as a small company we are grateful to have this opportunity to invest in own building in such a prestigious address. We are also extremely impressed with the high level of professionalism shown by the developers, who have made this entire process so painless," she said.

Stephen Brand, a director of De Vos Paxton Inc Consulting Engineers, which is developing a 1830 square metre building on their site in a joint venture with PlanTrust Development (Pty) Ltd, said they themselves would be occupying much of their new building.

"I have no doubt the whole architectural style of the office park; the urban design of which allows for the creation of a community atmosphere and the fact that it is one, if not the last, readily available commercially zoned land in the Western Cape, have all contributed to its sell-out success."

Granbuild's Kevin Langley said that within a week of acquiring their site they had a buyer for the top floor of their building and strong interest in the balance of the space. "And we have not yet had architectural drawings completed."

The Estuaries' sites are being subdivided with their allocated bulk in place. This will speed up the development period as the precinct plan has already been approved by the local authorities.

Servicing of the site at a cost of R26m is already underway and is due for completion by April next year to coincide with the first transfers of land to purchasers. The first office blocks should be completed by end of 2006 with the entire park completed within two years' of transfer.

The development, which will have boom control access, will also enjoy the high standard of security offered by Century City as a whole.

At the heart of the development will be the beautifully landscaped Estuaries Gardens, complete with a restaurant overlooking a formal lily pond, grassed berms and lawns and offering a tranquil respite for office workers.

Most buildings will be located around or overlooking the gardens and developers are required to maximize the garden frontage and where possible to link into the gardens' meandering footpath system.

Strict design guidelines will ensure the urban environment is developed in an holistic manner with the buildings interfacing seamlessly with both the urban and natural environments.

For further information please phone Giles Balmer on 021 550 7000 or 0834570628