Kyalami auction piques interest

The High Street Auction Co will conduct the auction.

Buyers’ interest has soared since the details of the auction were made public, says High Street Auction’s Lead Auctioneer and Director Joff van Reenen, with prospective buyers contacting the company from as far afield as America, London and Europe.

High Street Auctions will be targeting two kinds of buyers over the next month, says Lance Chalwin-Milton, joint managing director at High Street Auctions: Investors who will be looking at the development rights of the track itself, and buyers who are interested in owning a trophy.

The circuit first opened in 1961. The fast and spectacular Kyalami circuit played host to its first South African Grand Prix in 1967, where local privateer John Love nearly took victory but ran into fuel problems late in the race, and Mexican Pedro Rodriguez won the day. Some of the world’s all-time motor racing greats followed suit in the years to come, including Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansel and Gilles Villeneuve.

One of the most famous races held at Kyalami was the 1977 South African Grand Prix, remembered for the fatal accident that claimed the lives of race marshal Frederick Jansen van Vuuren and driver Tom Pryce. The most recent event was the Superbike championship in 2010.

Political sanctions caused the shutdown of the Grand Prix following the 1985 race. It was rebuilt in the early 1990s as part of a commercial development, but changed after Formula One abandoned the rebuilt circuit in 1993.

Within striking distance from Sandton, South Africa’s financial hub holding some of South Africa and Africa’s most expensive real estate, the property consists of Ptn 169 of the farm Bothasfontein 408 JR (69 1577 ha on which the race track is situated) and Erf 5 and Erf 6 Kyalami Ext 2, the latter being vacant land.

The zoning of portion 169 of the farm Bothasfontein allows for a variety of land uses and conditions, including private open space, motorsport and related purposes like circuits, tracks, spectator pavilions, control towers, etc., while Erf 5 and Erf 6 Kyalami Ext 2 allows for a wide range of uses, including offices, retail, commercial and related uses. This does not include residential development, except with special approval from the local authority.

Development on Erven 5 and 6 has to be related, in some form or another, to the current use, being a racetrack. The property also has the rights for the development of a petrol station. There are reasonable indications that a rezoning application may succeed for a mixed residential/commercial redevelopment of the land. The conditions of such a rezoning would be subject to the type of zoning and proposed development.

The area is further enjoying a huge infrastructural upgrade to the road network, including an upgrade to the Allandale interchange of R800 million, as well as Woodmead Drive, from Maxwell through to Allandale having already been completed.

An independent rental income forecast for the property shows a projected gross income of R16.8 million per annum.

– The auction will take place at noon at Summer Place, 69 Melville Road, Hyde Park on July 24.