RYAN CHIGOCHE
Property management, development and investment firm, First Mutual Properties (FMP) says it will soon issue invitations to tender for the construction of the proposed Arundel Office Park project, Business Time can report.
The project has taken longer than expected to take off the ground largely due to the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
Initially, the project was supposed to kick off in the second half of last year but was disrupted by the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Group chairman, Elisha Moyo, said the sketch plan review, cost plan and budget based on the preliminary design, have already been completed.
What is left, Moyo said, was to submit detailed designs to the local authority ahead of floating the tender for the project.
“The group is at the pre-construction stage of the Arundel Office Park extension. The design development of the architectural plans has since been completed. The tender will be floated in the first half of 2021,” Moyo said.
The company’s managing director Christopher Kudakwashe Manyowa said the project is key for the group.
“Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the expansion of Arundel Office Park remains a key route to reposition the property portfolio, as corporates continue to explore office re-entry with suitable Covid-19 compliant space in mind,” Manyowa said.
He said the funding mechanics for the project remain predominantly capital recycling as debt options in the local market remain limited together with the equity financing options anchored around the recent real estate investment trust legislation issued in Zimbabwe which will provide another fundraising mechanism.
Manyowa said the completion of the project is expected to increase the revenue and boost the overall property evaluation while easing the current demand for office space.
An independent property valuation conducted by Knight Frank Zimbabwe as at December 31 2020 showed a 50% gain on the prior year on inflation adjusted terms as the property valuation portfolio for the year was at ZWL$9.40bn, driven by fair value gains realised in the land bank, retail sector and industrial sectors, while value appreciation in the industrial and retail sectors are due to improved rental potential and demand.
The delay in the construction of the Arundel Office Park Extension is a result of the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
FMP said it will focus on driving rental growth, managing operating and maintenance costs, all to ensure the growing concern and sustainability of the property portfolio and with changing local and global and real estate trends.
The group will target investment opportunities in non-traditional real estate asset classes and provide property services to third parties to further diversify income streams.
