Heritage Cases

The proposal for the redevelopment of the site is a response to the Approved Rezoning of the property from Special Residential 900 to an Intermediate Residential Zone with a density permitted of 36 dwelling units. The following primary adaptive reuse aspects were considered before the decision to apply for demolition was made: 1. Conversion to Offices - the demand of offices on the Berea is practically non-existent with the development of secure Office Parks north in Umhlanga and beyond and to the west to Westville and Hillcrest. As a result of this inviability, the owner of the property cannot consider conversion of the existing house to offices 2. Conversion to Hotel - the demand of hospitality on the Berea is very low, with most hotels having been demolished or converted to other uses (examples are: The LA hotel, The Caister and Galloway House). Few small boutique hotels exist with very low occupancy rates and considering this, the owner of the property cannot consider the risk of incurring significant cost to implement a conversion and the add sufficient rooms to generate a workable guest room to FOH/BOH ratio. The entire proposition is considered inviable 3. Conversion to Medical Centre - Notwithstanding the fact that the property is distanced from the main four Berea hospitals, recent exploration by the practice to convert 68 Peter Mokaba/Ridge road offices to a stand-alone medical centre, concretised that there is no demand of medical suites with the centralisation of many medical services into hospital precincts Considering the inviability of any suitable adaptive reuse of the house on the subject property, the owner as developer has commissioned this practice to design a high grade, low-rise urban apartment scheme with integrated parking. It is noteworthy that the proposal considers the retention of nearly all of the very established and mature existing trees including those which line the driveway. Careful planning and execution is intended to deliver a restrained, contemporary housing enclave which will counterpoint the typical re-development model characterising the Berea Refer to the following attachments: • The Ethekwini Rezoning Decision Notice • Architectural drawings outlining the concept design proposal for the new development