RDC Properties Plans Retirement Village

Pauline Dikuelo | Monday May 6, 2019 12:08

When commenting on their 2018 annual report RDC executive chairperson, Guido Giachetti said the design development for the proposed retirement village development project in Tlokweng is at an advanced stage.“We are currently waiting to receive planning and building permissions from the Land Board. The proposed plans for the development should be complete within the second quarter of 2019,” he said.

The design submitted for approval comprises of 12 semi-detached houses, 55 apartments of one and two-bedroomed communal areas and up to 34 beds in the frail care ward with the option of introducing a step down (sub-acute) facility in response to the demand received for such offerings.

According to Giachetti, this year will see the definition of the group’s corporate structure, the business model, the operating agreements along with the level agreements and the sign off preparation of the suite of legal documents for the sales units.

He said they will be adopting the plan of sales marketing strategy for the development and will be rolling out marketing campaigns in the capital city as a start.

“The ground-breaking ceremony will follow shortly after unveiling the sales strategy and the project is expected to last 18 to 24 months,” he said. The executive chairperson said even though the trading environment for the year was challenging, in line with the region, they showed strong resilience in its Botswana-based yielding portfolio. 

The group’s rental revenue in the country was up by one percent year on year with the tourism and hospitality sector being the largest contributor.

The commercial sector along with retail has been under pressure while the industrial and residential demand was solid throughout period.  The group’s vacancies across the portfolio in the country were at 3.48 percent by year-end with no large risk events for the new period, as their locations and buildings, it says, are in demand.

“As an ongoing process and part of the asset management, a few of our buildings are being assessed for need of revamp and/or rationalisation of their use, given the ever-changing business environment,” he said.