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An unusual 41-home estate from Rawson Developers has opened new opportunities for families who want to enjoy the many advantages of living in Cape Town’s southern suburbs – with a historic cricket club that was founded almost 120 years ago on their doorstep
Cricket, goes the meme, is life: everything else is just a game. So the members of Alma Marist Cricket Club, soon after celebrating the club’s centenary, took a long hard look at the future – and how best to ensure that they could continue to play on their historic oval on Park Road.
They knew the club had one thing going for it: an incredibly desirable location, 600 metres from Rondebosch Common, five minutes from some of Cape Town’s best schools (Rustenburg Girls’, Bishops, St Joseph’s, Rondebosch Boys), 10 minutes from the University of Cape Town’s main campus, literally around the corner from the Rondebosch and King David Mowbray golf clubs – and close enough to the M5 and M3 to make the daily battle into the city almost bearable for commuters. So they realised they had an opportunity to create something truly unique.
And that’s where Rawson Developers stepped in. Beginning all that time ago, the company proposed a townhouse development that would retain the club’s oval and bowling green, provide the vital cash injection needed to upgrade the clubhouse, and that would meet the needs of some of the growing number of families looking to relocate to one of Cape Town’s most attractive destinations.
Despite numerous setbacks (changes like these take time!), the development – now known as Rondebosch Oval Secure Lifestyle Estate – eventually found favour both with the neighbours and with the authorities. Permission was granted, services were installed, and building on Phases One and Two began (with Phase Three expected to open in 2019).
And, judging by the interest in the market – the development has attracted mostly families with young kids who love the sense of community – Rondebosch Oval is now hitting sixes all the way.
SUPERLATIVE HOMES
At just 41 units, Rondebosch Oval is small by the standards set by Rawson Developers, which has built more than 2,500 homes in around 50 developments around the Cape in the 20 years of its existence.
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But these aren’t just ordinary townhouses. With 10 different design options available – all of which are highly customisable – these threeand four-bedroom, double-storey homes feature extraordinary levels of safety and security, as well as exceptional attention to sustainability and the needs of the environment. With private gardens and pergola-covered patios and large, double-glazed windows in the first-floor bedrooms framing views of the mountain, the cricket oval or the bowling green, the sense of place of each is firmly rooted in Cape Town’s extraordinary beauty.
Although the developers have suggested various interior decor themes, they’ve also made decor assistance available to buyers, who will be able to choose from Oggie Hardwood Flooring, and Smeg or Bosch appliances, which are included in the purchase price.
And it goes without saying that fibre to the home and DStv over fibre come as standard.
CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
With solar panels on roofs and EV lights inside and out, and the estate’s non-drinking water needs served by a filtration system that cleans the estate’s borehole water (removing the iron that causes the red stains on so many exterior walls in the Cape), Rondebosch Oval becomes one of the more environmentally aware developments of its kind.
The design of each individual home takes best advantage of natural daylight (with plenty of windows for natural ventilation), and specifications include energy-efficient heating, double glazing, insulated geysers that are light on electricity, water-wise taps, showers, and toilets with low-flow fittings.
As with the interior decor, landscaping is customised for each unit, and landscaping assistance is available for buyers. And, obviously, only water-wise, indigenous plants have been specified, both for the estate’s public areas and for the individual homes.
For peace of mind, the various layers of the estate’s on-site and offsite security include electric fences on perimeter walls, strategically positioned digital HD CCTV cameras with 24-hour monitoring, a staffed gatehouse, and armed response.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The sports club is expected to become the hub of community life on the estate. Membership is included in the monthly levies, which will give all residents access to the oval and the clubhouse, which features a gym, a restaurant/coffee shop and pool.
‘The club will continue to operate as usual outside of game days, and home owners and their families will have access to the fields to play sport and walk their dogs,’ said senior project manger, Morne Moller.
It’s symbolic, too, of the developer’s whole approach to Rondebosch Oval – as with any good game of cricket, it’s unfolded slowly, working patiently towards its inevitable, desirable outcome.
‘There aren’t many developments like this,’ said Moller. ‘We wanted to create a high-end product, that upheld the integrity of this small piece of history.’
