South Africa’s Waterfall City looks set to become a role model for future international urban developments. Located approximately halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, this mixed-use mega-development urban enclave has been built from scratch on almost 5,500 acres of vacant land using “smart,” cutting-edge technologies and is supported by state-of-the- art infrastructure.
With its own helipad, eight schools, a private hospital, and thousands of residential clients within easy commuting distance of the offices of global giants such as Deloitte, PwC, Accenture and Cisco, Waterfall City is also home to Mall of Africa, South Africa’s third-largest shopping mall. Attacq, the South African property developer and REIT (real estate investment trust) behind the project, has recently confirmed that it will add a further 50,000 square meters of residential, logistic and office development in its portfolio to ensure Waterfall City’s status as a world-class destination. Attacq began work in October on Vantage Data Center’s $1 billion campus, which on completion will be Africa’s largest hyperscale data-center provider. Attacq CEO Jackie Van Niekerk is understandably delighted. “We are really pleased that companies like Cisco and Vantage are swelling the ranks of the multinational companies and international brands locating here. It is a vindication of what we have to offer,” she says. “There’s not just electricity, water and all the other essential infrastructure amenities businesses need for their operations, but their employees can live close to their work and raise their families in a safe and secure environment.”
Attacq has come a long way since 2005, when it began life as an investment holding company. It acquired a 75% stake in Waterfall City’s development rights three years later and converted itself into a REIT in 2018. Today, Attacq’s overall portfolio is worth $1.45 billion and its network of mall developments stretches from Johannesburg down to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. Van Niekerk is now working hard to ensure that Attacq keeps on growing sustainably. “In five years, we want to be generating as much of the electricity for our developments’ needs as possible from off-grid sources,” she says. “We will be investing a lot of time and money in developing solar power plants in the immediate vicinity of our properties.”
With over a million more square meters of land still to develop, opportunities await investors into South Africa’s most desirable new business address.