Obtaining prime land in close proximity to or in a sought-after suburb is\u00a0key\u00a0to any property developer\u2019s success, says property firm Seeff.<\/p>\n
There is\u00a0unobtainable\u00a0land in South Africa\u00a0that even the uber-wealthy\u00a0would have trouble affording if it was for sale, the company said.<\/p>\n
Two examples of invaluable, but\u00a0unobtainable\u00a0land in Johannesburg include the land on which the Tara Psychiatric Hospital in Hurlingham is located,\u00a0as well as the grounds of the Johannesburg Zoo in Saxonworld.<\/p>\n
And the reason they are off limits? Both have been exclusively zoned decades ago for a specific purpose and it has to remain that way.<\/p>\n
Tara Psychiatric Hospital was originally a large and opulent house built in the style of the 1930s,\u00a0owned by the Tillett family.\u00a0Visitors and residents approached through majestic gates on the south side\u00a0of the property,\u00a0down a driveway\u00a0which ended in a circle under the decorated portico.<\/p>\n
In 1942 Tara was sold to the government and became the Defence Force Inland High Command Headquarters\u00a0during\u00a0the late stages\u00a0of World War II. Towards the end of the War the property was leased to the Red Cross and Major Jack Penn’s\u00a0renowned\u00a0plastic surgery unit was installed.<\/p>\n
When demand for plastic surgery declined, Tara was transformed into a pioneering mental health hospital and today it is a public sector specialised psychiatric hospital, rendering specialised services to people with serious mental illness.<\/p>\n
Charles Vining, Seeff\u2019s MD in Sandton, says the land on which Tara is located is extremely desirable,\u00a0but cannot\u00a0be used for residential purposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTara is zoned in\u00a0the suburb of\u00a0Hurlingham,\u00a0and\u00a0the highly desirable suburb of Sandhurst begins on the opposite side of the property, in\u00a0Saxon Road (where the Saxon Hotel is). Homes in Sandhurst are priced from R10 million, but most often upwards of R20 million.<\/p>\n
The land on which the hospital is located is\u00a0about\u00a011.5 hectares (29 acres) in size.\u00a0An\u00a0acre of land in Hurlingham is priced\u00a0at\u00a0around R8 million.\u00a0Applying this math, one would calculate the land value of the Tara hospital property at R230 million. If you look at prices in Sandhurst however,\u00a0stands\u00a0cost between R12 million and R16 million per acre\u00a0and so the Tara land\u00a0could in fact be worth more than\u00a0double the estimated R230 million.<\/p>\n
The conditions of the\u00a0title deed to the\u00a0Tara erf stipulate however that the land may only be used as public space and for this reason it will not\u00a0likely\u00a0be able to transfer to a private owner,\u201d said Vining.<\/p>\n
Vining continues that the land on which the\u00a0Johannesburg\u00a0Zoo is located was donated years ago by the firm of the late Hermann Ekstein,\u00a0upon condition that it should be used as recreational space.<\/p>\n
Ekstein\u2019s commitment to making Johannesburg a beautiful and enjoyable place to live is evidenced by the fact that decades ago\u00a0Ekstein was extensively involved in the development of the new\u00a0mining town in Johannesburg.\u00a0 He had three million trees planted in an area which he christened \u201cSachsenwald\u201d, now the\u00a0leafy\u00a0suburb of Saxonwold.<\/p>\n
The Zoo is 55 hectares (140 acres) in size and has been in use since 1904. Today it is home to 200 individuals of 320 species.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is difficult to put a value on this type of land in Saxonwold\u00a0as\u00a0it\u00a0is effectively priceless, but\u00a0one could use a mathematic calculation based on the price of\u00a0an acre of land in Saxonwold (R8 million) or neighbouring Parkview \u00a0(R2 million per acre).\u00a0Since the Zoo is 140 acres the value could be calculated at\u00a0near\u00a0R1 billion.<\/p>\n
Vining concludes that in addition to this property\u00a0becomes more valuable when large tracts of land suitable for development can be bought together.<\/p>\n
More on property in SA<\/p>\n
Here are the 22 most exclusive streets for South Africa\u2019s ultra-rich<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n