Irene is growing into a major business hub that complements Centurion and Menlyn Park’s business nodes as development continues in the area.
Artist Impression Of Little Creek’s New Head Office
“With a prime location that places it within 10 to 20 km from the Centurion, Pretoria and Midrand CBD’s, the greater Irene area has seen substantial growth over the past years and looks set to continue its development boom. Established developments like the Route 21 Corporate Park, Irene Village Mall, Irene Farm Villages and Cornwall Hill Country Estate, mark the area as a highly desirable address to live, work and play,” says Ken Reynolds, regional executive: Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, Gauteng.
The multi-billion Rand Route 21 Corporate Park is one of Irene’s biggest developments and is located on its namesake, the R21 highway (Albertina Sisulu Freeway) on the border of Centurion and Pretoria East. This high-tech, top security business park is a mixed use development that includes mostly stylish “A” grade offices as well as neat industrial and warehousing components alongside a smaller retail element. There is a varied tenant mix that includes BAE Systems, Land Rover Jaguar South Africa, Dimension Data, Annique Skin Care, McCarthy, Eskort and Volvo, to mention a few.
“An increasing number of developers are exploring multipurpose developments as the trend creates new business hubs that prove popular and convenient for South Africans and continue to drive the economy,” says Reynolds.
“There are approximately 300 different companies in the park with an estimated 8000 workers that range from multinational companies and JSE listed groups to smaller SMME’s making the park their home. Nedbank has been approached to fund the development of the last undeveloped highway facing property in the park on an owner-builder basis for Justin Irvine of Little Creek Trading and on completion, the building is to be rented to Mapa Cleaning Technologies – a thriving small business that is consolidating its three current operations or premises into a new head office in Irene,” he says.
As manufacturers and importers of quality cleaning equipment and products, Mapa Cleaning Technologies has pioneered specialised cleaning solutions that have led the company into many diverse fields. Mapa currently employs 100 people and has committed to a ten year lease term for the office space that will see it continue to expand.
“Nedbank Corporate Property Finance will fund the construction of Mapa’s new office facility for the amount of R17,5 million which will be developed by JIC Projects of which Justin Irvine is the 100% shareholder. JIC Projects is highly successful and has completed over R250 million worth of commercial office park developments over the last few years. Nedbank is proud to be a part of the growth in Irene and will continue to offer flexible solutions that build and maintain sustainable relationships with its clients,” he concludes.
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