Trussard Property Consultants (Trussard) firmly believe that the property node along the N1 extending from the Buccleuch Interchange to the Samrand off-ramp is fast becoming the most sought after commercial real estate in Gauteng, and possibly in South Africa. Trussard are experiencing a substantial increase in enquiries concerning the availability of vacant land and commercial property developments adjacent to the N1.

This increase in enquiries has translated into Trussard being awarded four property developments in this node spanning a 10-month period. These developments are significant as they include two multi-national companies, a radio station and a relocation of an established company from Bedfordview.

Trussard’s three directors, Dennis Helyar, Edward Ward and Mark Truscott, have a hands-on approach to Trussard’s property deal flows where each are equally involved but are allocated individual client portfolios. The three directors are all upbeat about this corridor.

Medtronic occupied premises in Bedfordview for some 18 years. Medtronic provides medical products and therapies to both the public and private healthcare sector. As they outgrew their premises, they approached Dennis Helyar with specifications for their new premises. Dennis said, “Medtronic is a respected worldwide brand and in South Africa as they required more space, a central location that would be well-served by arterial routes and a site that would give their presence more visibility.”  

Medtronic moved to their new 2 200 m² premises in Woodmead North Office Park in May this year. Dennis said, “Their specifications were somewhat unique as it included a mock operating theatre whereby medical practitioners could visit their premises and experience ‘life-like’ medical presentations.”

Another office development in the same office park was recently sourced for BT (formerly British Telecom).  BT will celebrate its 20th anniversary in South Africa by moving into larger premises that reflects its steady growth in the sub-Saharan African region. BT’s brief to Edward Ward was obviously that of larger premises with excellent visibility that also enable BT to adopt its green principles. Edward said, “This stretch of the N1 from the Buccleuch Interchange to the Samrand off-ramp boasts unparalleled visibility to the hundreds of thousands of commuters who traverse this freeway on a daily basis. Being a responsible and sustainable multi-national business leader is one of BT’s strategic business priorities and BT wants their new offices to reflect this priority.”

BT’s new 2 800 m² offices will be ready for occupation on 1 December 2012.

Another accolade for Trussard was finding new premises for Gauteng radio broadcaster, Jacaranda FM. Part of the listed Kagiso Media group, Jacaranda FM has embarked on a rebranding exercise which its new premises will reflect. Their new 2 100 m² premises face the N1 and straddles both Vodacom and Siemens in Midrand.  Mark Truscott is excited with Jacaranda FM’s new custom-built premises which will be ready for occupation on 1 December 2012. Mark said, “Jacaranda FM’s requirements are unique and Trussard has taken great care to meet this client’s specifications. Their location is paramount as this broadcaster required a site that is in the line of sight of the Magaliesburg broadcast transmission tower that provides their listeners with crystal clear reception. Issues of security have been addressed to ensure optimal safety for their personnel and the visiting public. As a public broadcaster, Jacaranda FM has interacted extensively with their listeners in the re-branding exercise and great entertainment areas are accommodated in their new building.”

The fourth building along this important node was sourced for another multi-national company, namely Avroy Schlain Cosmetics. As the largest direct selling beauty house in South Africa today, Avroy Schlain has become a household name with a base of 25 000 distributors. In essence, they have always seen Midrand as the logical base for their operations but due to their exponential growth, they had outlived their premises. Their brief to Trussard was quite clear – they required a state-of–the–art purpose built facility within a three kilometre radius of their existing premise. Mark Truscott said, “Finding vacant land within this radius was an exciting challenge as Midrand has very few suitable sites available. Nonetheless we succeeded in meeting our client’s expectations in addition to their exacting health and safety requirements – which are certainly above South African specifications.”

Avroy Sclain’s 6000m² premises will be ready for occupation within the first quarter of 2013.

The Trussard directors are optimistic that the demand along this corridor, incorporating those surrounding developments such as the new Waterfall Park precinct adjacent the highway between the Buccleuch and Allendale interchanges, will continue to attract exacting clients such as they have already secured. They believe that with new building techniques that incorporate ‘greener’ lighting, reduced heat loss and air conditioning technologies, businesses will actually experience that their property expenditure will stay comfortably below the rental curve and could garner respectable savings in the long-term.

“We foresee that the new arterial roads and bridges that are planned for this area will positively exacerbate this node’s commercial viability. This could spark a hive of re-locations of business from outlying areas which should establish this area as Gauteng’s premier business district,” said Dennis, Edward and Mark.

About Trussard

Trussard Property Consultants are leading commercial property leasing and sales experts in Gauteng, sourcing commercial and industrial properties, as well as vacant land. Based in Sandton, Trussard Property Consultants have over 21 years of commercial real estate experience and are able to formulate cost effective solutions for client’s property requirements. Trussard offers a full turnkey service, in the form of a one stop office space and warehousing shop.

For more information, please visit: https://eprop.co.za/commercial-property-blog/property-news-blogwww.trussard.co.za

For media enquiries please contact:

Gary Scallan
Barbet Communications

Tel:       +27 (0)11 425 0398
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