To put you in the picture   (see aerial photo under Philippi East)

If you drive from Cape Town to Somerset West, and you see the Airport’s runway on your left  hand side, Philippi East is the area on the right, before you get to the R300.

Or;

If you take the R300 towards Mitchells Plain, the first off ramp after the N2  is AZ Berman and Stock Road. Take a right, direction airport and you will drive into the area.

Or;

Coming from Wineberg on Lansdown Road, follow the road till you get to the old cement factories’ silos and Shoprite. You will then be in Philippi East.       

History

Philippi East was originally a farming area that was rezoned in the 70’s, and ever since became a growing industrial node of Cape Town.

Mr. Manfred Stock, the former farmer grew up on this farm as a boy in the 1930/40s. They farmed with life stock including horses and mules, which they supplied to the South African Army during World War II.

Mr. Stock rezoned the area in the 70’s and serviced Stock Road, which years later became the main road of Philippi East.

 
During the Apartheid Era this area was on the wrong side of the line. It was also far away from the city centre and growing industrial areas.  Demand for land in Philippi was very low, and it was mainly bought by the cement industry because lime was discovered in the area.
 
With the 80/90’s anti apartheid riots, Crossroads became a war zone and it spread to Philippi as well. Initiatives in the early 90’s were unsuccessful due to a lack of Investor’s trust, security issues and very low investment in Pdi area’s in general.

This resulted in increasing crime and chop shop activities establishing themselves in the area.  The area declined and became a less favorable place to be in until the late 90’s.   

In the late 1990’s The City of Cape Town invested R45 million in an Interchange and Bus Terminus. An average of 28 000 people use this bus terminus per week.
A fresh produce market was built recently and is consequently attracting vehicles and people from all over the Western Cape that have never entered these communities before.

But many problems remained. Residents work in places like Bellville, Montague Gardens, Brackenfell and other industrial and commercial areas. This caused high travel expenses, poor conditions for the children, insufficient shop, reading and health facilities that have kept the area poor. Many of the working parents leave home at 4 ‘O clock in the morning in order to be at work in time. And then again leave work at 6 ‘O clock to be at home before 9’ O clock.   No wonder crime and drugs have invaded the area.

In 2002 Mr. Manfred Stock solely appointed subsidiary company of the Oscar Saunderson Group to facilitate his industrial developments and land affairs in this area.  Since then we made contact with most of the land owners in the area and established relationships with them; working together to make Philippi a better place.  The potential was obvious and the team started the long road to “freedom” for the area. Meetings with city officials, role-players, investors, professionals etc. led to small and consecutive successes, which later created the momentum that is currently transforming the area for good.
       
In dept studies were done on the history and the people of the area in order to understand everyone’s thinking patterns. Our finding was that perceptions of people and officials have made a huge impact on the recline situation in this area. We made every effort to change these perceptions. We invited more than a thousand role-players, politicians, and investors into the area to change their perception of Philippi and its people in 2003 to 2005 alone. 

Philippi East is home to some of the poorest and most illiterate communities in Cape Town. With such little retail, banking, medical, educational, social and other development activities any suburb would have fallen apart. People want to stay close to amenities, libraries, schools etc. Children walk enormous distances to schools. Mothers must take public transport to do shopping in other surrounding areas. This caused the residents to spend their money elsewhere instead of investing in their own area and helping themselves.

With all the years of hard work and risk came results that can be clearly seen if you look at the area, its developments and price hikes.

Oscar Saunderson, Bert Bezuidenhoutd and Jako Van der Westhuizen (SEED Projects) in conjunction with a prominent construction company, have managed to demolish one of the central chop shops covering almost 8000 sq/m of buildings. On the security side it was the biggest breakthrough of the 2007/2008-year for the area. 

Mr. Stock’s efforts paid off when the industrial market of Cape Town, and industrial land close to the airport became very much sought after.  This resulted in growing demand and growing prices.

Philippi is the only under-developed industrial area that is left close to Cape Town International Airport. 

Mr. Stock is still actively involved in creating a masterpiece of his inheritance.

Recent movement in the area
 
•    The Business Place is busy with a 12 ha commercial/industrial/social development project on the corner of Eislieben and Lansdown Road.
•    Marley Tiles have constructed a 58 Million Rand distribution Warehouse in the area.
•    Power Construction is in application phase for a 60Ha industrial development.
•    Golden Arrow is extending their depot with 2 Ha
•    A new Fresh Produce Market has been constructed in Symphony Way.
•    Metrorail and the city constructed a R45m Long distance interchange and train station that draws 28 000 people a week to the interchange. This interchange is a beautiful landmark in the area and serves hundreds of busses that travel countrywide.
•    Stock Station is a major station serving a community of 500 000 people. 
•    A New 18 000 sq/m shopping centre is in planning phase in Gugulethu, and another on Stock Road (8500sq/m).
•    A well-located light industrial park was developed on Lansdowne Road, behind Cash and Carry, with high visibility from the N2.
•    At least 3 industrial parks are in the making, and will soon be launched to the market. 
•    The Philippi Soccer stadium is one of the practice fields for 2010 and are in the process of a major upgrade.
•    Spar has constructed their new Distribution Warehouse in the area in 2008.
•    The Beautiful Home Initiative has opened their doors a couple of years ago with a beautiful Aids Centre for children.

Why this area!!!!!  

Consider this:
 
Access:

•    Philippi is located in the centre of Cape Town, 15 minutes drive from the harbour, Northern Suburbs, Southern Suburbs, and Somerset West. It is surrounded by major roads like the N2, R300, N7 and Lansdown Road.  There are 6 access routes connecting Philippi to the airport and the rest of Cape Town. It is a central point of distribution to the Cape Flats.
•    It is 1.5km’s from Cape Town International Airport.
 
Major roads:

Lansdown, N2, R300, Stock Road, AZ Berman, Eislieben, Symphony and N 7

Land Prices:

Land prices in Philippi are more or less four times cheaper than the average price paid for land in Airport Industria.  With Industrial land becoming more sought after these prices can only increase to current going rate of other industrial areas like Kalarney Gardens, Airport Industria, and Bellville Industria. This makes Philippi a very safe and high potential capital growth area.  Recent sales showed up to 1000% profit on some portions in the area.

Background:

Philippi East has a very old history and people have been staying in the area since the early 1930’s. When the apartheid laws were finalized Philippi East was classified as a black area, and therefore the black and colored people have maintained their ownerships. They sell their land to industrial developers because of the restriction to build residential dwellings in the area, due to the noise contours. This leaves Philippi with only Industrial and Commercial development potential, which is the perfect setting for the industrialist. 

Klipfontein was expropriated and given to the Methodist church in the 1940’s for their “native” church grounds and activities. With the 1994 elections and the end of Apartheid they have successfully claimed the land back, which gave the 700 families staying on the land ownership in the name of the community trust. They have recently engaged in a transaction where they are selling their land in order to move to Nooiensfontein, a subsidized housing development for the families. 

All the current squatter look-a-like buildings in the area are in fact owners staying on their own land. Having the minimum money but at least owning their own land.

Contact us

With so much potential, growth, capital growth, access, location and so much more how can you not come and look for yourself. Philippi is a time bomb waiting to happen; the perfect opportunity for any wise investor.

We have all you need:  the information, the land to sell, opportunities to pass on and property you can invest in. So give us a call and we will gladly show you what we can offer.

This is true upliftment!!!!

Oscar Saunderson
072  373 0301