The R21 Corridor, which runs along the Albertina Sisulu Highway (R21) between Pretoria and O.R. Tambo Airport, is fast becoming Gauteng’s newest development hub for Logistics and Distribution companies to establish their warehousing operations. A number of well-known Logistics and Distribution players have already, over the past 2-3 years, made the R21 Corridor their home, including DSV, Takealot, Savino del Beno, Caterpillar and other big-name players. Developers have also signed up a number of companies from the automotive industry and alternate energy sectors, and they are confirmed to move into their new facilities with highway-facing developments in the coming months.
Org Geldenhuys, Director of Abacus Divisions, a Commercial Property Broking Firm specialising in Industrial Property on the R21 Corridor says, “Ease of access to major highways, secure industrial parks and close proximity to labour and turnkey facilities are all features that make the developments on this corridor so highly attractive. We are finding more and more companies wanting to move out of the traditional areas earmarked for logistics to the R21 Corridor. A little-known secret of the R21 Corridor is that there is an inland container port with rail container loading and offloading planned for the area. This on its own will open up the area to part distribution warehouses and other freight forwarding businesses, amongst others. The opportunities are endless, we may even see business being diverted from other inland port areas such as Rosslyn and the East Rand to this very central location, close to their customer base in the heart of Gauteng.”
Geldenhuys further says: “The developments on the R21 Corridor are dominated by a number of big players in the industry. Starting close to O.R. Tambo you will find JT Ross’ Plumbago developments in the Kempton Park / Pomona area. Moving North, closer to the Serengeti Residential Estate on the Benoni and R23 offramps, you will find the M&T and Fortress’s developments, Eastport Logistics and Witfontein. Moving towards Midrand and the Olifantsfontein offramps to the R21, you will find Twenty-One Industrial Estate, another M&T development with secure warehouse options available. Closer to Irene and the Rietvlei Dam area in Centurion, there are a number of development options available on both sides of the highway adjacent to the very successful Route 21 Corporate Park and Irene Village Mall. These include M&T’s Rietvlei Business Park, Hereford Industrial Estate and other Irene developments around the Cornwall Hill Estate. Closer to Pretoria we have a mixed-use development by Atterbury nestled between the R21 and N1 Highways called Castle Gate. While most of the R21 Corridor developments are only to let, a number of players in the area are willing to look at a JV or lease with ownership options.”
“We’ve seen the R21 Corridor developing into a major player in the Industrial and Logistics space since the development of the area’s first secure park, Route 21 Corporate Park, which was developed in Irene around 2002. Prime highway sites with visibility and branding options are being snapped up quickly with only a few options still available on the R21,” says Geldenhuys.
Geldenhuys suggests that if you have not considered the R21 Corridor as an option for your operation, you should do so sooner than later. “You will be very surprised at how favourably the corridor competes with other nodes, such as Samrand, Allandale and other logistics nodes. We have run the numbers for clients on a few projects and the savings compared to their current location made relocating a no-brainer and non-negotiable in most instances.”
Abacus DIVISIONS (012) 345 55 55 property@divisions.co.za