Rabie's Sable Park took the prize at the South African Property Owners’ Association (Sapoa) Awards for Innovative Excellence in the 2019 Office Developments, commercial category, announced at this month’s Sapoa annual convention held at the Cape Town Interntional Convention Centre.
Rabie’s most recent residential development, Axis, was on the shortlist in the residential category. Founded in 1966, Sapoa is considered one of the most respected institutions in the South African property industry, and is regarded as an influential voice. Its annual awards are a highlight of the industry’s calendar.
Designed by dhk Architects and constructed by WBHO, Sable Park consists of two buildings – one of 8 300m² and another of 8 000m². Set along Sable Road on the edge of Century City, the spectacular views and prime location were big draw cards.
Completed towards the end of 2018, this 5-star Green Star development has attracted prime tenants and is fully let. Discovery occupies the larger of the two buildings with MTN ICLEI, Byte Orbit, Sasfin and TAL sharing the second.
“We are humbled at being recognised by the industry for Sable Park in this very competitive category,” says Colin Anderson, chief operating officer at Rabie Property Group.
Picture: Rabie Property Group
“It’s a fundamental principle at Rabie that we develop more than just bricks and mortar, and we aim to drive focused innovation and worldclass design principles. Top of mind is that we not only uplift the neighbourhoods and precincts we develop, but that we act responsibly in terms of the environment and provide unique locations for businesses to thrive in.
“Mixed-used precincts are amazing places to work and live in, with Century City one of the leaders in providing a safe, convenient environment where you can find incredibly beautiful homes and enjoy the benefit of having your office, retail and entertainment right on your doorstep.
“We were honoured to win the Sapoa Property Development Award in 2017 in the mixed-use development category for Century City Square, which has grown from strength to strength since then with recent additions of Sable Park, Axis and our new P3 parkade.”
Picture: Rabie Property Group
Century City Square houses restaurants, delis, Century Hotel and Century City Conference Centre in a superbly designed setting, creating convenience and sophistication.
The precinct offers easy walking access to the restaurants and Virgin Active gym. Building on the success of Sable Park and its surrounding commercial office buildings, another state-of-the-art commercial building, Sable Corner, is currently under construction.
With a gross lettable area measuring approximately 7000m² of premium grade office space, Sable Corner is set for completion next year.
Plaudits for country’s best developments
Discovery Joint Venture took one of the top awards this year. Picture: Supplied
The winners in the 2019 Sapoa Property Development Awards for Innovative Excellence were announced at a gala dinner and awards evening at the 2019 Sapoa Convention & Property Exhibition on June 20.
The awards recognise the remarkable work done by property owners, designers, architects, engineers, artists and visionaries, and a total of 47 entries were received across the various categories.
According to committee chairperson, Zinon Marinakos, although the convention is hailed as the most prestigious networking event on South Africa’s built-environment calendar, this year commands more prominence as a milestone for the industry across the country and beyond.
“The judges have reviewed each submission per category based on the evaluation criteria. Over and above the category winners, there were also overall awards, which include the Transformation award, Heritage award, Overall Green award and the Overall Winner for 2019, which was awarded to the Discovery Joint Venture,” he said.
Overall Winner
Discovery Joint Venture
Overall Winner in the 2019 Sapoa Property Development Awards for Innovative Excellence was awarded to Discovery Joint Venture, who were also winners in the Corporate Office Developments category.
The Discovery head office, developed in a joint venture by Growthpoint Properties and Zenprop Property Holdings in Sandton, Gauteng, houses close to 7 500 people over 112 000m² of gross lettable area in an eight-storey structure above a parking basement which accommodates 5 667 cars. Each floor plate is approximately 12 000m² in size.
The accolades were awarded as follows
Corporate Office Developments: Discovery Joint Venture
Commercial Office Developments: Sable Park – Century City
Industrial Development: Cummins Southern Africa
Innovative Award: Witklipfontein Eco Lodge
Interiors Award: Discovery Place Interiors
Mixed-use Development: No Winner
Other development: Norval Foundation
Refurbishments: 33 Baker Street
Refurbishment Retail: Eastgate Redevelopment and Contemporisation
Residential Developments: Embassy Towers
Retail Developments: Flamingo Shopping Centre
Rural Developments: Thavani Mall
International: Hilton Garden Inn
Overall Transformation Award CTICC II
Overall Heritage Award: Battery Park