Avianto Estate – a property gem in the heart of Muldersdrift

The era of creating luxury secured lifestyle estates in South Africa continues to be a booming market as these developments aren’t stopping anytime soon. The latest addition to the fray, the Avianto Estate, is set to offer exclusive and inclusive residential estates.

The estate is in the home of Avianto Hotel and Venue in Muldersdrift, which is a popular location for weddings and celebrations. It also has become the go-to destination for television weddings, most recently seen on The Queen’s wedding on Mzansi Magic. 

Having broken ground in 2013, developer Darin D’Oliveira, also the founder and executive chairman of the Northlands Group, has opened the market with Le Jardin development, which is a 115 freehold stand in the heart of the Avianto Estate.

Explaining during the media launch of the latest development, he highlighted just how massive the property is – 300 hectares, the majority of it still in construction. However, there are completed homes with residents already living in them.

The residential homes in this development will be nestled among picnic spots, a kids’ play park, catch-and-release fishing dams, hiking and biking trails of about 30kms and an equestrian park.  

It will also include a sports club offering pilates, tennis, and squash woven through Avianto Estate.

After our tour around the estate – which also houses a private school – the vision of this project became clear. 

What is this vision you may wonder? Comfortable lifestyle living, without having to leave the estate. 

While watching D’Oliveira talk about what they envision as they hope to complete the project in about 10 to 15 years’ time, the passion for the Verona development is palpable. Prior to this, when the hotel was built in the late 1990s, the discussion for the estate started about building residential houses. After first pitching the idea, they discovered that the property owner opposite the country hotel wanted to build residential houses, which could have hampered their views and offerings. 

D’Oliveria thought a golf course would be suitable as it was the trend at the time, so he started buying up the properties around Avianto. He agreed to do a deed of sale and pay the property owners over five years.

“It worked well for both parties, they knew it as well,” he said.

Many years later, Avianto Estate would come to fruition through the tides of trendy golf estates.

“People realised what it takes to maintain a golf course and it is not viable,” he explained.

They decided to rather do a lifestyle estate with a public offering.

The homes have between three and four bedrooms and are sectional titles, with an estimated starting price of R2 million for an entry-level home. 

“We are opening a freehold option, where people can buy their own stand and build themselves,” D’Oliveria said.

We got to see one of the completed showhouses. Despite its smaller exterior, the homes are large and have an open floor downstairs, with a dining room, TV room and modern kitchen. 

The estate will offer homes below R2 million to accommodate different living standard measures (LSM) market. “The idea is to have multi-generational living in one estate with different LSM within a greater estate,” he says. 

Some estates do have a reputation for feeling uptight and D’Oliveria agreed with this notion, adding that Avianto Estate will be a more free environment. 

“This is much more about nature, living in nature.”

When it comes to estate projects of this size, working with the government can be tedious when buying up the land owned by the state. The developer has had a couple of run-ins, particularly with a piece of land owned by government which he would like to utilise for a retail mall. If the plan doesn’t work out, Cradleston Mall is about 3kms away.  

Even though this is a longevity development, D’ Oliveria says he hopes he is alive to see it in its full glory once it is completed as he has complete trust in his young team to do what needs to be done. All he needs to do is to ensure the funds are there for the development. 

As our tour neared its end, we discovered another gem inside the property – a distillery for Masau Spirits which produces top tier smooth craft gin, tequila, rum and vodka.

The distillery is open for a tour and tasting for anybody. The proudly African company celebrates masau fruit tree which is grown in Southern Africa.