437 hectares of land once allotted for the ‘Destiny Africa’ megadevelopment on the Garden Route, just outside of George, is available for sale through Galetti Corporate Real Estate on a tender basis.
“The land is currently zoned as agricultural, but the municipality is supportive of rezoning, which would require the new owner to reapply for rights and rezoning. If rezoned, the land could be used for a multitude of different purposes – from commercial (industrial, office, retail, or hospitality) to residential,” says Wesley Cowan, Western Cape Director of Corporate Services for Galetti Corporate Real Estate.
“I am positive that the land can be sold successfully. The previous developers applied for huge quantities of bulk services because of the high-density type of development, with skyscrapers, that they envisioned.”
“The massive services contributions that this would have required is what caused the development to fall over,” explains Cowan. “A different approach could see a successful development on this extremely valuable piece of property.”
When news of the Destiny Africa deal broke in 2009, former Western Cape premier Helen Zille described the potential for development to create a new ‘global tourism and business hub.’
“The Destiny Africa project will combine business, learning and leisure into a so-called smart city. Components include a top-class conference centre, a business park with an incubator, a university cluster and research centre, about 7 000 residential units, ecotourism and medical tourism facilities, retail opportunities and a waterfront. These interconnected facilities are known as an ecosphere.”
“Destiny Africa is expected to contribute significantly to South Africa’s economy in the same way as California’s Silicon Valley, India’s information technology hub of Hyderabad, or Singapore. These regions have used the smart city concept to drive economic growth by attracting foreign investment as well as the world’s top specialists and entrepreneurs,” said Zille.
Potential buyers are invited to submit final offers by the end of September.
