Billionaire Douw Steyn’s Empire: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About His Multi-Billion-Rand Estate, Steyn City
Billionaire Douw Steyn is an insurance magnate who created one of the most luxurious residential estates in South Africa. Located between Fourways, Dainfern and Lanseria, the megacity is home to thousands of Johannesburg residents who love the finer things in life.
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Briefly News looks at some of the most exciting aspects of Steyn City that you probably didn't know.
1. Multi-billion-rand Steyn City Lifestyle Estate was endorsed by the late Nelson Mandela
It is no secret that billionaire insurance mogul Douw Steyn and the late Nelson Mandela were close friends. The pair spent considerable time together after Mandela's release from prison on Robben Island.
According to The Guardian, Mandela attended the launch of Steyn City plans in 2007 and even planted a bushwillow tree on the land before development began.
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At the opening of the lifestyle resort in 2015, Mandela's widow, Graça Machel, is said to have knelt down at the base of the two-metre-high tree in remembrance of her husband.
Machel explained to the crowd that trees celebrate his life much better than statues.
2. Steyn City has everything you can expect to find in a 'mini-city'
By all accounts, Steyn City Lifestyle Estate is a 'mini-city' within a city. Douw Steyn envisioned an estate that would meet residents' needs without needing to go outside the "city" to find what they need.
The city development kicked off with around 730 apartments and adjoining multi-level buildings and has 5 000m2 of initial retail space on the ground floor, according to The Citizen.
Over 1 000 residential stands, with numerous multimillion-rand houses and clusters of houses, had been sold when Steyn City first opened, and more stands are expected to be sold in the future.
Like any other city, Steyn City has numerous suburbs: The Views, Park Ridge, The Lakes, Fairways Valley, River View and The Village.
The mega estate also has a clubhouse with a beautiful 18-hole golf course designed by Nicklaus Design, a company founded by American professional golfer Jack Nicklaus.
3. Steyn City Lifestyle Estate has an app
Steyn City not only developed a fantastic lifestyle estate, but the developers also took it one step further and tapped into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) by creating a mobile app for residents.
According to Engineering News, the Steyn City app was developed with the intention of creating a communication tool for residents.
The app also has features such as e-hailing ride services such as Uber, fitness, pets and other community-based features. The app also lets residents generate access codes for their visitors.
The Steyn City app includes an onboarding feature for future and existing residents. Residents can also manage household accounts and billings on the app.
4. Steyn City Lifestyle Estate will be a R30 billion project by 2023
Steyn City's expansion is currently in the works. Developers estimate that the development project will cost around R30 billion by 2030.
When the estate first launched, it drew in investments worth R6.5 billion and by 2019, an additional R5.5 billion was invested into the development of the lifestyle estate.
According to The Citizen, developers estimate that the estate will have around 9 000 to 10 000 homes, including free-standing houses, apartments and penthouses, by the end of 2023. In 2019, Steyn City sold R2.2 billion worth of homes.
Steyn City has now built a 25 000m2 shopping centre near one of its entrances, a 300m lagoon and a heliport inside the estate.
The estate also plans to build more apartments with ample parking space as well as 45km of roads and walking paths, and an aquatic centre, and plant a million trees within its borders.
5. Steyn City properties being snatched up, penthouse sold for R33 million
International buyers have taken a keen interest in Johannesburg properties and Steyn City has benefitted from this.
According to BusinessTech, a penthouse at Steyn City sold for the total asking price of R32 million and a free-standing house was taken off the market for a whooping R50 million.
Pam Golding Properties' Lambert Bezuidenhout explained that buyers seem to be drawn by inland features such as the lagoon at Steyn City.
6. Steyn City Lifestyle Estate offers a state-of-the-art school and college
Steyn City School, which includes Steyn City Prepatry and Steyn City College, are independent schools owned by Steyn City Properties. The schools showcase unique architecture seen in the development of the estate.
Steyn City School takes in kids from Grade 000 until Grade 12. According to its website, Steyn City School is a Microsoft Showcase School and was the first to achieve this global accreditation in less than one year.
With all its amazing features, annual tuition at Steyn City School starts at R76 000 for Grade 000 and Grade 00 schoolkids to R145 960 for Grade 10 to Grade 12 pupils.
7. Douw Steyn built his R250 million palace in Steyn City
Billionaire Douw Steyn built a palace fit for a king, which he named the Palazzo Steyn, inside his megacity. In 2018, the 3 000-square-metre house was said to be the most expensive house in the country.
According to Homes of the Rich, the mega-mansion has seven bedrooms, a two-storey library, a 33-car subterranean garage and more outstanding features, including some of Mzansi's most impressive lawns and an infinity-edge swimming pool.
Steyn's house also has a breathtaking view of the rest of the estate.
Billionaire Douw Steyn lives an intriguing life
Briefly News previously reported that billionaire Douw Steyn has made a name for himself by founding one of the biggest insurance companies in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
However, Steyn's life is not all about business, the insurance tycoon has a knack for philanthropy and has interesting ties to South African politics.
Briefly News looks at Douw Steyn's life, achievements, friendship with the late Nelson Mandela and his relationship scandals.
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Source: Briefly News
