Port Shepstone is situated on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, one hour’s drive from Durban. It is the largest town on the KwaZulu-Natal(KZN) south coast and boasts exceptional properties in Port Shepstone.
Hybury Prop’s new housing development project is set to change Port Shepstone’s landmark and bring about a much needed increase in housing stock.
Affordable and entry level –housing units in South Africa are in demand, and Hybury Prop is currently developing bank funded housing units ranging from R400,000(US$41,832) to R600,000 (US$62,747. The project is situated on two commercial sites of 1,000 m 2 each on a farmland which was no longer productive and has been rezoned to address the need for affordable housing units.
The project developed in phases, will see the development of entry level housing units at a cost of R80 million(US$8.3million), for phase one, with its main target being the civil servants in the Port Shepstone area of KZN. Phase two will consist of 450 housing units with commercial stand for small to media shops, while phase three will see the development of a shopping mall, private school, clinic or offices depending on the demand.
The development which commenced with civils in 2012 and earmarked to take 9 months to complete is situated on a steep terrain, inland of Port Shepstone on the KZN South Coast.
The development sitting on 40 hectares of land is being built in three phases; with phase one being built on 7.8 hectares of land and will entail 164 top structures to be completed in eighteen months.
Hybury Prop appointed Environmental Solutions to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment study (EIA), to ensure that all conditions as contained in the Record of Decision (RoD) are adhered to and also to ensure that all activities during civil phase are compliant.
Minor challenges were encountered and these entailed heavy rains that caused soil wash and damage to partly constructed roads and sewer lines, shortage of electricity, and steep terrain. The project team came up with innovative ways to counter the challenges.
The use of loffelstein retaining walls, installation of solar heating panels to heat water are some of the innovations applied by the developer to reduce electricity consumption.
The development with an overall budget of approximately R280million (US$29.2million) enjoy unique scenic views, since it is located 5km from sea, with some of the houses overlooking the sea.
