Strategically located at the entry point of Grand Bay, The Precinct, is a three-building commercial office premise that has recently been developed to emerge as the first commercial development project in Africa having secured an EcoDistrict certification.
Co-founder and CEO of Grit Bronwyn Knight who is the anchor tenant of The Precint housing the group’s global headquarters told: “Having a landmark calling card in the form of The Precinct provides no better opportunity to showcase the world-class standards that can be achieved in Africa.”
“The story of The Precinct aims to showcase one of Africa’s talents where it is designed to set a global standard to house multinational tenants conducting business on the continent. “At its core, The Precinct is all about bringing together like-minded professionals and entrepreneurs to collaborate, focusing on ideas and initiatives that will both shape and change the future.”
CEO and co-founder of Gateway Real Estate Africa (GREA), Greg Pearson commented: “The EcoDistrict Protocol is a rigorous, sustainable urban development framework aimed to achieve people-centric, economically vibrant neighborhood while offering a district-scale sustainability. “EcoDistrict certification provides another layer in our quest for responsible real estate development and to achieve a zero-carbon footprint. It is complementary to the 5-Star Green Star Certified Rating that Unity Building at The Precinct has achieved not so long ago.”
In addition to the latest project considered to be an asset, GREA was also behind the development of the recently launched Artemis Curepipe Hospital and is currently constructing the Artemis Coromandel Oncology Centre, where both are anchored locally.
On the other hand, Chief Operating Officer and Head for GRIT Shevira Bissessor said: “It acts as a catalyst to become the first commercial development project in Africa to achieve Eco-District status. It is attributed to a fruitful collaboration where Grit and GREA’s development team drove the technical support and implementation. Conversely, the input, commitment, and participation of tenants such as Dentons and Workshop, NGOs among others constitute our family of partnership in having played a pivotal role in helping achieve this successful rating.”
“The EcoDistrict certification is based primarily on three imperatives, namely equity, resilience, and climate protection in addition to six priority areas, spanning across the place, prosperity, health and wellness, connectivity, living infrastructure as well as resource generation in their process,” she added.
“A large part of the EcoDistrict certification is focused on guiding our way to achieve a zero-carbon footprint in the future. To maintain the certification, our progress is set against set goals and targets that will be measured every two years.”
The project houses the Unity Building, a futuristic office development that integrates the staff’s well-being and work-life harmony embedded in its design. In addition to Unity Building, there will be two office developments, Freedom and Harmony projects to be constructed over time.
Pearson of GREA explains that while on the one hand, the 5-Star Green Star rating is a certification tool implemented to a specific building, the EcoDistrict certification on the other hand, encapsulates a progressive approach to the sustainable development of a district rather than an individual building.
Gateway Real Estate Africa (GREA) is a subsidiary of London-listed Grit Real Estate Income Group (Grit) and developer of The Precinct.
