“The City of Tshwane has for long identified a need for additional, new growth and business centres that could provide relief for the overburdened infrastructure of the city centre, while broadening the development of the region,” says Retha Schutte, Pam Golding Properties’ regional executive for Pretoria.
“Now, with properly designed mixed-use mini-cities such as Menlyn Maine increasingly coming on stream, and the opening of the development’s impressive 60,000m2 Central Square scheduled for 21 September 2016, this imperative is finally being realised, and in the process Pretoria is reaching an exciting new stage in its development cycle.”
“Menlyn Maine is an immense 315,000m2 purpose-designed green mini-city, which effectively combines office, commercial, residential and entertainment spaces. It is not only the largest project of its kind within the Tshwane municipal region but one of the most ambitious projects of its kind in Southern Africa. The developers of Menlyn Maine have partnered with the international Clinton Climate Initiative and the precinct is one of only 17 green cities that will be built in various countries and the only one in Africa.”
According to Thys Greeff of Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings, the mini-city has been designed with the greatest attention being paid to appropriate urban planning and green design. One result of this is that the precinct will use much less energy and less water than a comparable development of this size.
“We were effectively able to develop this mixed-use city from the ground up into what we believe is an ideal urban environment. The idea behind Menlyn Maine is to create an easily accessible, exclusive and self-contained urban centre where corporate staff members and residents can work and live within a healthy, attractive and highly productive environment where everything is close to hand and within easy walking distance. Residents and visitors will also have access to a range of highly select retailers and entertainment facilities,” adds Greeff.
“The precinct is designed according to the standards set down in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighbourhood Development rating system. The streets, residential developments, office buildings, retail outlets, dining establishments, commercial facilities as well as all other public spaces are being designed to promote responsible, healthy lifestyles in a sustainable city precinct. This is establishing Menlyn Maine as an address of choice for living, working, shopping and entertainment,” observes Schutte.
Sun International’s application to move their gaming licence from Morula Sun to Menlyn Maine was approved at the end of 2014. The development of the Time Square Urban Entertainment Complex has already commenced and will include a five-star hotel, 8,000 seat entertainment arena, a 10,000m2 casino and conference facilities.
The first building to be completed in Menlyn Maine was the regional head office for Nedbank. This is a 16,500m2 building with a five-star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa. Subsequent buildings that have been constructed including the new corporate head-office for Sage VIP as well as the headquarters for Regus. The development of a 4,200m2 building, with the BMW SAP Competence Hub as primary tenant, was completed in November 2015.
All of the buildings in the precinct are required to achieve a minimum four-star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
