26 Hectares of development land is For Sale situated in the Modderbee Alliance precinct of Benoni, Ekurhuleni. The development potential on the site is 60 units per sqm, or 1,560 units in total.
This property is ideally suited for development purposes which aligns with the Social Housing Regulatory Authority requirements.
Approval is being sought from council for densities that will allow for a social housing development in terms of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority’s (“SHRA”) mandate to deliver rental units. In summary:
SHRA Mandate
SHRA has a mandate from Government to deliver rental units to service the needs of low- and medium-income households. This includes social development and must be, inter alia, “close to jobs, markets and transport and by stimulating job opportunities to emerging entrepreneurs in the housing services and construction industries.”
Modderbee (Springs) falls within a restructuring zone as defined by SHRA.
See SHRA presentation attached for further information.
SHRA Requirements
The Modderbee project has been planned to meet SHRAs specifications to service low to medium income housing.
It is planned for 2,132 units on 26ha land equating to a density of around 81 units/ha which, based on our previous interaction with SHRA, would be within their parameters, providing ample open spaces, parking and clubhouse – see Architects Design and Layout.
At least 30% of the units would be one bedroom/bachelor units (30m2) servicing the primary market and the balance two bedroom units (45m2), as required by SHRA.
A new entity is being established with the land owner, currently the South African National Tuberculosis Association (“SANTA”), being the majority shareholder contributing land as equity. This entity will be applying for approval from SHRA as an Other Development Agent (“ODA”) – see attached SHRA presentation.
Based on initial assessments the land is ideally placed within the urban edge surrounded by residential properties and previously housed a hospital with access to bulk services. These would need to be assessed and potentially upgraded.
Housing Backlog
South Africa has a significant housing backlog estimated at more than 2.6 million homes.
In early May 2021 the Chairperson of SHRA highlighted the need to accelerate the delivery of social housing to meet is annual target of 30,000 units. The would require a further approximate 90,000 being delivered by 2024/25 bring the total number of units delivered by SHRA to approximately 125,000 units (IOL News article dated 9 May 2021).
The Modderbee project will provide a good opportunity to deliver in excess of 2,000 in Ekurhuleni which is an area identified by SHRA and where a significant need for housing exists in a densely populated area that employs many people across industries.
