Elematic slabs first choice for developers of Twee Riviere Retirement Village

The demand for retirement villages around the country is growing as a large proportion of the population is reaching retirement age.

Developers who are able to provide a ready supply of accommodation are assured of a fairly receptive market at the moment, and being able to complete facilities on time and to the required standard is important.

Precast hollow core concrete slabs supplied by Elematic South Africa (ESA) have helped keep the construction process on schedule at Twee Riviere Retirement Village in the Pretoria suburb of Montana Tuine, just off Zambezi Drive. This multi-phased project is being developed by Central Development Projects, which has largely specialised in residential property development, including retirement villages, for some 15 years.

The majority of the Central Development Projects’ work is done in Gauteng, but it has undertaken projects further afield in Bloemfontein and Ellisras. It has also recently expanded its development expertise to include small office parks as well.

When complete, Twee Riviere Retirement Village will comprise a service centre combined with two floors of assisted living units, four blocks of flats – each four storeys high, and 347 free standing units. The free standing units offer the most independent living, whilst the frail care section offers the most highly assisted living.

Marius van Zyl, construction manager for Central Development Projects explains that the 1 760m2 service centre will include a 20 bed frail care unit which has 24 hour service, and several bachelor units. Above this will be two floors of assisted living units, with 18 units per floor. The four blocks of flats will provided a total of 166 units, with each unit being able to accommodate two people. The 347 free standing units will also be able to accommodate two people each, and will be equipped with a panic button and intercom which connect to the service centre in case residents need assistance.

ESA’s hollow core concrete slabs are being installed in the four multi-storey blocks as well as on the first, second and third floors of the service centre at Twee Riviere Retirement Village. ESA is supplying some 4 000m2 of slabs in total for the project. Van Zyl says the company has been using ESA’s products for three and a half years now and that they have been consistently impressed. “The quality of the ESA slabs is currently the best in the market and their service has always been excellent,” he comments. He adds that the quality of the ceiling finish, which is simply obtained by painting the soffit of the concrete slab, is also outstanding.

Hollow core concrete slabs are manufactured off site at ESA’s facility on the East Rand, and can be transported to site and installed quickly. Their use offers a significant time saving advantage over the traditional cast-in-situ method, which in turn translates into a cost saving. In addition, the fact that the slab soffits can just be painted to produce a high quality ceiling finish means the cost and time involved in installing a ceiling are eliminated.

Construction at Twee Riviere is taking place in six phases over a period of some 18 months. Work began on Phase 1 in February this year. This phase will see the completion of the service centre, one of the four storey blocks and 29 free standing units, which are on track for completion at the end of September. Phase 2, which will add another 37 units, is scheduled for completion in November 2010. Work on the remaining phases will progress throughout 2011 and the final phase is expected to be complete towards the end of November 2011.

About ESA:

Elematic South Africa (Pty) Ltd manufactures precast hollow core concrete slabs for the South African market. Elematic is a well established international brand. The company was established in Finland in 1959 and has since set up precast production plants in more than 70 countries worldwide. As part of the Consolis Group, which focuses on research and development in cement and precast concrete products, Elematic is backed by extensive knowledge and experience. Elematic South Africa supplies the latest available technology in precast concrete products. Its state-of-the-art production facility on Gauteng’s East Rand is ISO 9001 certified and all its products carry the SABS mark of quality.