Discovery’s new head office is a bold architectural statement at Sandton’s highest point in Sandhurst. The site owns 147 217m2 floor space (of which 134 481m2 is dedicated office quarters) and is made up of carefully designed spaces intended to foster an environment of creativity, innovation and collaboration. Designed by Boobertman + Partners (the architects behind 129 Rivonia Road and Fourways Mall) and engineered by Pure Consulting and Sotiralis Consulting, the financial services group owns a new home that's had the town talking. At the time of writing, Discovery has started the process to relocate 5,000 employees from West Street to 1 Discovery Place.
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Development History
Development of the R3 billion 1 Discovery Place started in 2014 with a prospective full-completion date of 2017 - which was met. Property investors Growthpoint will own 55% of the new site while developer Zenprop will own the remaining 45%. Discovery has signed a 15 year occupancy lease on the property. Discovery’s has come at about the same time that the company expects to move into retail banking, for which the license was granted in October 2017 from the Registrar of Banks.
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5-Star Green Rating
1 Discovery Place as it is known, has scored a 5-Star Green Rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), which uses a localised version of Australia's popular Green Star rating system. The new development's lease terms range from three to 10 years. According to the GBCSA's report, Discovery's new home is a clear reflection of the company's core values, ambition and purpose. Some of the key points the Council highlighted were rigorous environmental and waste management processes during construction, the building's "green roof" (partially covered in vegetation), CO2 based demand control of fresh air, and the harvesting of grey and rain water for irrigation and flushing of water closets and urinals.
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Taking On Prospective Tenants
Tenant’s will have access to the Discovery Lifestyle Services which includes services such as a canteen, restaurants, dry cleaner, hair and beauty salon, Woolworths, a running track, car wash, coffee shops, vehicle servicing, phone repairs, and license services etc. and the first ever Discovery Bank Branch. Tenant signage may be made available on the Phase 2 Building, subject to the size of the tenant area leased. Lease agreements range from 3 to 10 years.
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By Shawn Greyling
