An affordable housing development situated adjacent to the Parklands, Tableview, Sunningdale and Blouberg suburbs is underway by developer Imvula Estates.

By Eamonn Ryan | All images by Imvula Estates

Civil infrastructure for Phase 1 of Pioneer Valley has already been completed, with house construction having commenced in September. Once completed, it will offer 536 single residential units, single and double storey units.

“We are not aware of anything like our development. The closest we can get but not to the same quality and finishing standard is in areas like Kuilsriver, Eersterivier and Mitchells Plain; developments by New Age Properties, Power and a few others,” says Werner Jurgens, director of Imvula Estates.

“Pioneer Valley has been designed to help qualifying first-time buyers onto the property ladder with the assistance of the FLISP (Financed Linked Individual Subsidy Programme) home-loan subsidy, provided by Government,” he says. The FLISP programme is a housing subsidy for qualifying first-time home buyers. “The subsidy is paid to your bank or financial institution on approval of your home loan and will reduce your monthly loan instalments, making it more affordable. The subsidy amount ranges between R27 960 and R121 626, depending on the joint household income of the applicant, with a maximum allowable monthly income of R22 000.”

Pioneer Valley park.

Pioneer Valley park.

The homes are typically two bedrooms, with a single bathroom 50 to 54m² in size. “The site is a fairly flat site with hardly any rock. The status is that for phase 1 of 208 units, the civil and electrical infrastructure is complete, with the top structure construction having commenced in September. Prices start from R559 900 inclusive of transfer costs, with the target market being households with an income below R22 000.

Jurgens says there is a desperate need for affordable housing in Cape Town: “With this project, the developers aim to address the ever-increasing shortage of affordable residential property developments close to work, schools, transport nodes, shopping centres and other amenities.

Pioneer Valley will provide first-time home buyers with the opportunity to buy instead of rent in a developing part of Cape Town’s Western Seaboard, which will include more housing developments over the next five to ten years. Wynand Ferreira, also a director of Imvula Estates, adds, “A plus is that it backs onto the Table Bay Nature Reserve and will also offer splendid views of Table Mountain. One can’t go wrong – it offers everything the first-time home buyer needs and promises to become a valuable asset over a few years.”

The first phase of 208 properties will include four house types, providing single- and double-storey two-bedroomed homes, with a further two phases planned. In addition, this development includes centrally located communal landscaped parks where children can play, as well as a local community facility.

Units will include quality finishes such as cavity walls, aluminium windows, floor tiles, and a kitchen with cupboards, an oven and hob as well as built-in main bedroom cupboards. Furthermore, it will offer added security in the form of boundary walls and security gates as standard features to all homes.

“Together with Government, Imvula is responding to this challenge head on, as housing is one of our fundamental human rights due to our desire for safe, secure, habitable and affordable homes. Housing plays a vital part in improving the social and economic welfare of society. It’s Imvula’s mission to create opportunities for first-time home buyers in the affordable housing market by utilising all available government housing subsidies to assist them”.

A streetscape view of Pioneer Valley.

A streetscape view of Pioneer Valley.

According to Ferreira, “Pioneer Valley brings affordable housing closer to places of work opportunity, public transport and amenities.”

The development is well situated adjacent to the Curro Academy Sandown, a few minutes’ walk from the bus stops, shopping malls, a gym and Blaauwberg Hospital, as well as the N7 and R27 arterial roads. It is also closely situated to the established Killarney Gardens and newly developed Rivergate and Atlantic Hills industrial parks.

Imvula Estates will undertake the development in partnership with The Milnerton Estates, which has a proven track record of more than a hundred years in property development, more recently credited with the Sandown, Parklands North and newly established Rivergate precinct. This precinct, which straddles Sandown Road, permits the development of multi-storey buildings to accommodate both office and retail use, including shops, supermarkets, financial institutions, showrooms, cafés and restaurants.