The new BMW premises will form part of a prime R150m office and motor showroom development on a gateway site at the Ratanga Road entrance to Century City.

The project, which is being undertaken in a joint venture between the Rabie Property Group and a new BMW franchise, will comprise an 8000 square metre BMW motor dealership, workshop and showroom, a 1000 square metre ancillary motor showroom, and about 4500 square metres of offices.

The new dealership is a joint venture between Justin Divaris and Sean McCarthy. Both are no strangers to the BMW Network as Justin is the majority shareholder of Hyde Park Auto in Sandton as well as Aston Martin in Johannesburg and Cape Town while Sean is the majority shareholder of SMG BMW in Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

The new landmark building will include double volume showrooms on the ground floor, one level of undercover parking and four storeys of prime office space with mountain and office views as far as Robben Island.

It is to be developed on a site between the public transport interchange and Ratanga Road entrance to Century City, which is currently Century City’s busiest entrances. The high profile site enjoys exposure to the high traffic volumes both within Century City and on Ratanga Road.

Parking will be provided on a ratio of four per 100 square metres with plentiful additional parking available close by.

It is also in easy walking access to many other Century City amenities including the convenience retailing and restaurants at the Colosseum which include Vida e, News Café and Woolworths Food.

Development manager Colin Anderson said they had moved into the final planning stage and construction was expected to get underway by year end with the entire development completed by the first quarter of 2009.

The new BMW dealership follows the relocation of the Western Cape operations of  Porsche Centre Cape Town and the opening of a brand campus for Daimler Benz.