An exciting development promises to be one of the jewels in the retirement village or lifestyle market. Waterfall Hills will be where one would like one's parents to be living, confident that they will continue living a vibrant, challenging life in an environment that is idyllic.
Waterfall Hills is a lifestyle estate bordering Waterfall Country & Equestrian Estate in Midrand, Gauteng. The estate is being developed by Century Property Developments and promises to include their signature architectural style.
A family business, Century was established in 1975 and has extended its offering to include shopping centres, residential estates and game lodges.
WHAT IT MEANS
 It will be more like a sophisticated hotel
Will provide investors with valuable assets
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"This development is the result of extensive research into retirement villages, both locally and internationally," says CEO Mark Corbett. "Rather than a conventional retirement village, it will be a mature lifestyle estate that promises to provide investors with a valuable asset that will be practical, aesthetic and hold its mark of quality for years to come."
Accommodation will be made up of 240 freestanding homes - ranging in size from 147 m²-215 m² - and include one-, two- or three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 64 m²-98 m² as well as penthouse suites.
The freestanding homes will form clusters of 10-20 homes each, with parks landscaped with indigenous plants and trees designed around them. All homes will have slate roofs, custom-made taps for ease of use and kitchens with a sophisticated farmhouse country look.
"We've designed the houses in such a way so as to ensure that they do not require expensive maintenance and upkeep in years to come," says Corbett.
Each home, including the apartments and suites, will be linked to a fibre-optic cable network that will provide residents with access to a community-based television channel. Each unit will include a remote panic alarm system. Residents will also have the option of utilising a bracelet that will have a panic button as well as an intelligent motion detection system able to let central security know if a resident has fallen or injured themselves.
The facilities are more akin to a sophisticated hotel than a retirement village. Outdoor facilities include a horticultural centre, tennis courts, bowling greens, croquet lawns, a chipping and a putting course.
Indoor facilities in the estate's main building will include a library, chess facilities, a cigar lounge with billiard tables, a movie auditorium seating 100 people, hair salon, travel agent, news agent and gift shop, a coffee shop, an arts and crafts studio, a multipurpose ballroom, a restaurant, a fully equipped gym and health studio, a flotation pool as well as doctors rooms and frail-care facilities. It will even include a business centre with a full-time secretary and three boardrooms for the use of residents.
"We envision that some residents will have business interests and will require these kinds of facilities," says Corbett.
In keeping with Century's design ethos, the main building will include numerous natural materials such as wood and stone with exposed trusses, sandstone plinths, travertine floors and upmarket finishes. A river will run through the entire estate, which will also boast walking trails through indigenous parklike surroundings.
The landscaping at Waterfall Hills will be entirely indigenous. The benefits of this are that it attracts birds to the estate and is more water-wise than planting alien vegetation. Century has its own nurseries where a team of dedicated horticulturists ensure the company has access to well-sized indigenous trees and plants.
Phase one of Waterfall Hills will include an interim frail-care centre while phase two will include the development of a sophisticated 100-bed frail-care centre able to cater for both serious and age-related health problems.
As befitting an estate of this nature, security at Waterfall Hills will be state of the art and will include a 3,6 m high reinforced boundary wall, zoned electric fencing with CCTV cameras and a secure access-controlled gatehouse, which will be manned 24 hours a day.
The ownership structure of Waterfall Hills is based on a life-rights scheme. This confers on the holder and their spouse the right to inhabit the unit or apartment for the rest of their lives, though ultimate ownership remains with the holding company. The benefit of this type of scheme is that it does not attract transfer or Vat duty. A certain portion of the resale profit goes towards a levy stabilisation fund in order to reduce the long-term financial load of residents though the life rights holder's estate receives the initial capital back.
"We've adopted this ownership structure after careful consideration," says Corbett.
"According to our research one of the main concerns of people nearing or at retirement age was having sufficient capital to last them. This ownership structure provides residents with that peace of mind."
In addition to indigenous landscaping, Waterfall Hills will include solar water geysers and the main building will utilise an evaporative cooling system as opposed to conventional air conditioners. "Wherever possible we will be including a passive climatic design from a ventilation point of view. Grey water will be used to water the gardens and parks and all refuse will be split for recycling," he says.
Prior to the start of the development, numerous blue gum trees were removed from the property. These have subsequently been mulched and will be used as compost for the landscaping.
Ultimately, residents of Waterfall Hills will have access to 27 km of secure walking trails, both within the estate and in the neighbouring Waterfall Country & Equestrian Estate.
"One of the many advantages of Waterfall Hills is that it will provide the benefit of small-town living with all the amenities of city living. Residents who choose not to leave the estate will have a number of amenities on their doorstep. Add this to a totally secure lifestyle and environment, and we believe that Waterfall Hills fills a unique gap in the retirement living market," says Corbett.
Waterfall Hills will ultimately be part of the total development of Waterfall City, one of the biggest developments ever to take place in Gauteng.
In addition to the lifestyle estate, the city will include residential estates, an equestrian centre, retail shopping, office and commercial space, a clinic and a school.
