Just in case you have forgotten about Steyn City and all that it is, here’s a little background.

Douw Steyn owns Auto and General Insurance and is one of South Africa’s richest men, with a personal fortune of over R16 billion.

The only reason that he isn’t on Forbes’ Billionaire list is because his fortune is not held in publicly listed companies, which makes him ineligible.

He left South Africa in 1992 to launch the Budget Insurance group in London. Steyn then returned to South Africa, shook hands with Nelson Mandela, and started the development of Steyn City in 2007, just outside of Joburg.

Back in 2013, it was already quite impressive. Now, it’s the largest single property construction site in the country, with eight cranes, more than 2 000 construction workers, and major excavation work taking place.

Take it away, Moneyweb:

Development of a new ‘city centre’ within the exclusive multi-billion-rand Steyn City lifestyle estate, located between Fourways and Lanseria International in northern Joburg, is well underway and was officially announced on Wednesday.

It will offer 730 apartments, retail and leisure space as well as a 300m-wide lagoon and man-made beach.

The R5,5 billion project is the next phase of development in Steyn City.

As part of its first phase launched in 2015, R6.5 billion has already been invested in bulk infrastructure and other buildings to set up the sprawling 2 000-acre estate.

Around 1 000 residential stands have been sold to date at Steyn City, which today has numerous multi-million-rand homes – including Douw Steyn’s palatial mansion reportedly worth more than R250 million.

Top Billing did a tour of that mansion, if you’d like to take a look around. 

Plumari, who is the public face and CEO of Steyn City Properties, tells Moneyweb that the city centre development will kick off with around 730 apartments in adjoined multi-level buildings and have 5 000m2 of initial retail space on the ground floor. Like Joburg’s established Melrose Arch precinct, construction of the new urban centre within Steyn City includes a “super-basement” for vehicles.

Is it weird that the super-basement with ample parking is what caught my attention there? No, it isn’t. I live in Cape Town. The parking struggle is real.

“The R5.5 billion project is part of our ‘Vision 2020’ next phase of development and will bring our investment commitments into the overall Steyn City estate to around R12 billion,” says Plumari. “It shows our strong commitment to investing long term in SA, despite tough economic conditions currently.”

They reckon that investment in Steyn City is set to reach roughly R30 billion in 10 years.

“The estate could ultimately have between 9 000 and 10 000 homes, including free-standing houses, apartments and penthouses,” he says. “We’re also planning to build a world-class sports centre at Steyn City, in addition to a 25 000m² shopping centre near one of its entrances.

With these amenities and half of the estate being parkland and green spaces, he believes Steyn City will be South Africa’s top estate.

If you’re keen to get in on the action, it might interest you to know that not a single apartment has been sold to date.

“This highlights our commitment to investing in SA,” he adds. “Yes, we are taking risk, but we are confident in the future of the country over the long term. We’re confident the apartments and penthouses will sell, as we are also selling an unbeatable lifestyle offering here.”

I guess we wait and see how it all turns out.

Let’s call a spade a spade while we’re at it – this will not be a city for the masses, but rather a select few.

[source:moneyweb]