New look, new name for Village of Happiness

WITH a new name and its R8-million upgrade recently completed, the last few months have been a time of great change for Margate’s Village of Happiness.

The retirement village, established more than 50 years ago, has always striven to keep up with changing trends and the needs of its residents.

“The revamp, which has given the village an upmarket, rather sophisticated new look, has ensured that it continues to move with the times,” said chief executive John Webster.

The most obvious improvement is the attractive entrance gate complex, with its modern, high-tech but welcoming new look. Then there is Cafe Munro, the upmarket coffee shop and restaurant next to Azalea Hall. It is what any village needs, a pleasant, trendy meeting place for residents and visitors.

Well-known local caterer Sally Heaver has taken over the management of the cafe. She opens it from 8.30am to 3.30pm daily, offers tasty breakfasts and lunches, tea, coffee, cakes and various savoury treats like her renowned quiches.

The upgrade also includes the revamping of the Azalea Hall entrance, a new Residents’ Entertainment Committee office, new garages and the resurfacing of 120m of road.

“Capital funding was used to pay for the upgrade. This means it won’t affect residents’ levies,” said Mr Webster.

The professional team in charge of the upgrade was made up of architect Roelof Meyer of Theunissen Jankowitz Architects, project manager Rod Bouwer and contractor Richard Irwen from R and M Construction.

With the Village’s brand new look, the strategic planning committee, management and the executive committee unanimously decided that it was time for a name change. In line with the other Hibiscus Retirement Villages, Umdoni and Ramsgate, the Village of Happiness will now simply be known as Margate Retirement Village. Please note that the Village of Happiness post office has also been officially changed to Margate Retirement Village. The postal code remains  4280.