Pretoria - Construction of the R300 million first phase of the Innovation Hub, the science and technology park on a part of the University of Pretoria's experimental farm, is scheduled to start in July.

Neville Comins, the chief executive of the Innovation Hub Management Company, said yesterday that the company would take transfer of the land "within weeks".

The farm on which it is located is adjacent to the N1 and N4 highways.

Current planning specified five development phases for the park, involving a total investment of R1.4 billion.

"Obviously a lot of that is private sector investment and owner-builder developments, with companies building research and technology centres on site," he said.

The Innovation Hub is a joint venture between Blue IQ, the development and investment arm of Gauteng's finance and economic affairs department, and the Southern Education Research Alliance, a strategic alliance between the CSIR and the University of Pretoria.

The hub is designed to support new technological research and businesses and has been operating as a pilot since its launch two years ago.

Comins said Gauteng was investing R258 million in the project, the bulk of which would go into the infrastructure and the construction of an 8 000m2 multi-tenanted building and a 4 500m2 innovation centre in the first phase.

The first phase would be about a quarter of the approved capacity of 121 000m2 of gross floor area on the 60ha site.

Potential clients included international hi-tech companies starting South African development operations, he said. Occupancy of the Innovation Hub was expected in the third quarter of next year.

"This will place the country on a new road of accelerated knowledge creation and commercialisation, and will spearhead the country's advance into the hub of global technology and world markets."

Gauteng's Innovation Hub, an initiative intended to enhance the province's innovative capacity and economic development, is set to take transfer of a site for southern Africa's first internationally benchmarked Science Park.

The family-owned Barrow Construction this year celebrates its 106th anniversary.

The catchphrase "Barrow-built" still counts, and the fifth generation of Barrows - John, Colin, Donald and Paul - are at the helm of the company.

Barrow's contracting order book has been healthy of late, including the head offices for Assore and Roche, a motor showroom for Edge Properties in Bryanston, and premises for the SA Blood Transfusion Service in Constantia Kloof.

John Barrow says the company is well positioned for on-going growth with focus on medium- to large-scale commercial and residential developments, either independently or as joint ventures.

Barrow Construction offers a full spectrum of services: land acquisition, assembly and rezoning, site development, construction and management, as well as project management and provision of a range of property, financial and commercial expertise.

Barrow Properties owns and manages office buildings on a long-term basis and various property development companies within the group undertake speculative property developments that are either sold or leased.

Barrow Properties had a good 2002, continuing with the R100-million Pinewood office park and Pinewood Square sectional title office development in Woodmead, the R150-million Thornhill office Park in Midrand and the upmarket Parc Nicol development in William Nicol Drive.

Barrow Flooring secured contracts for Nedcor, De Beers and Ericsson, while another subsidiary, Gauteng Piling, secured business in Angola and Botswana, begging the question whether Barrow intends expanding beyond its traditional Gauteng base.

"We have no aspirations to move outside Gauteng with contracting and property development operations, though the flooring and piling operations must necessarily go further afield," John Barrow said.

Barrow expects to build on the strength of its integrated offering this year. New contracts, refurbishments and securitisation of spec developments will mark major trends.

LYONS Financial Solutions Holdings plans to retain a 10% equity interest in its corporate lease fund even after listing it separately, a structure in line with international trends and ensuring that asset managers do not milk the funds under their management with fees.

Hybrid property loan stock company Redefine says its business practice of combining direct property holdings and listed property instruments offers special benefits for the group.

PARAMOUNT Property Fund on the Acquisition Trail Paramount Property Fund (Paraprop), listed on the JSE Securities exchange earlier this year and rated one of South Africa's top property funds, is on the acquisition trail to boost its portfolio of properties to R1-billion by end October.

Emerging retail communities are to be represented for the first time in the JSE property sector with the joining of Shops for Africa Ltd.

Listed-property expert and head of Catalyst Gauteng operations Harry Boonzaaier has again discredited the popular view that high gearing was good for shareholder value in property investment vehicles.

Shilowa says study is not about the link's existence, but its impact

The trend by institutions and large property owners towards the outsourcing of non-core business functions is demanding new standards of technical skill and service levels from property managers.