New developments set to change North Durban

WITH several major developments set for North Durban, worth billions of rands, there are bound to be some changes ahead for the area. We take a look at six developments that will change the face of uMhlanga, Mt Edgecombe, Sunningdale and eMdloti. Here’s a list of 6 major changes for the area.

1. Oceans Development

The R3.1-billion Oceans Umhlanga ‘Dubai-style’ mixed-use development is set for Lagoon Drive. The project is the largest private sector investment in development history in KwaZulu-Natal and is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Vivian Reddy and Rob Alexander of Edison and Ducatus property groups.  The development will boast two residential towers consisting of 460 apartments with sea views. The development will also boast a shopping mall and a luxury 200-room five-star hotel.

2. N2/M41 interchange (uMhlanga/Mt Edgecombe)

The long awaited N2/M41 uMhlanga interchange, which has been under construction for the last three years, is expected to be completed by April 2017. South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) together with the KZN Department of Transport, said the development will see the N2/M41 Mt Edgecombe interchange transformed into a four-level systems interchange that will provide free-flow movements in all directions.

3. Park Square development (uMhlanga)

There is yet more change for the area around Gateway as the R1bn Park Square development. The mixed-use office and retail development will be located next to Chris Saunders Park and will have a 4-Star Green Star design. The building will serve as Nedbank Group’s flagship campus in KwaZulu-Natal.

4. New Cornubia Shopping Mall (Mt Edgecombe/Blackburn)

Shoppers will soon be spoilt for choice as the new 85,000m² Cornubia Shopping Mall is set to open in September 2017. The mall is rising from the old cane fields alongside the M41 at Flanders Road. Roughly half the size of the Gateway Theatre of Shopping, the building will boast two supermarkets and 1 630 parking bays and 1 608 basement bays.

5. Sunningdale Shopping Centre makeover (Sunningdale)

Sunningdale centre will undergo a R115-million makeover in a move that is seen as a way to ‘uplift the area’. The centre, which was built more than 20 years ago, had become a popular attraction for residents of the area. The new retail centre which is expected to open for trading in April 2017. The centre will be anchored by either Woolworths or SPAR and will provide shoppers with a much improved retail experience which will include a wide range of convenience stores and restaurants.

6. The OceanDune Sibaya development (eMdloti)

The new 1 000 hectre mixed used development, Sibaya Coastal Precinct will give rise to over 9 000 residential dwellings and 500 000 square metres of commercial properties such as schools and hospitals. A total of 60 per cent of the landscape would be rehabilitated and left as ‘green spaces’. Extending from the Ohlanga River in the south, the Mdloti River in the north and the N2 highway in the west, the Sibaya precinct has been split into five nodes over 750 hectares, with OceanDune Sibaya being the first development to open offering 260 apartments.