MUIZENBERG-based Capricorn Park, which effectively failed in its mandate as a science and technology hub, is making a rather convincing comeback as a business and industrial property.
It seems the repositioning of Capricorn Park has caught the swell in the local commercial and industrial property – recording some encouraging sales of industrial land this year.
Most significant is that the park has recently secured its first head-office development for Crusader Holdings.
Capricorn Park has notched up 66 sales of industrial erven for R55m with another R10m in sales under negotiation.
Wendy Hartshorne, asset manager for Capricorn Park, said all 30 small industrial sites in phase one have now been sold with 25 of these having been achieved in the past 12 months. Only one of the 16 large industrial sites and two of the 36 specialised industrial erven in the first phase remain to be sold.
Hartshorne concedes that sales in the office precincts had been slower but were now gaining momentum on the back of the strengthening commercial property market. To date 12 of the 44 office erven have been sold, seven of these in the past year with the level of enquiries having picked up substantially in recent months.
Another key development for Capricorn has been a significant change in the shareholding structure with well known empowerment company, Brimstone Investment Corporation, and the Public Investment Commissioner (PIC), set to take stronger equity position.
Brimstone has signalled its intention to double its direct shareholding in Capricorn Park to 16% - effectively putting a third of the newly repositioned property under the control of black empowerment entities. The PIC will follow suite in a similar deal.
Interestingly Brimstone also holds an indirect stake in Capricorn via its minority shareholding in Nedbank, which recently (along with Grinaker-LTA), snapped up Investec's controlling stake in Capricorn.
The latest developments on the sales side and on the shareholders' register bode well for Capricorn.
It was not too long ago that the 68ha Capricorn Park looked in danger of being given the 'white elephant' tag – especially since a whopping R100m was spent on developing infrastructure for the site.
As the only genuine mega industrial/commercial zone in Cape Town's southern suburbs, the property looks increasingly like maturing into a prime business zone.
The success of other (albeit much smaller) southern suburbs developments like Westlake Business Park suggests Capricorn could soon start delivering yields for its shareholders.
Whether the development can spawn more residential development – which would add impetus to the Muizenberg revival effort – remains to be seen. One only has to look at the success of Century City to grasp just how commercial development can spur major residential expansion.
CBN will watch developments in 2006 with some interest.