PRESS RELEASE - July 1999

PINETOWN'S CBD TO BE BOOSTED

Pinetown’s CBD is soon to be boosted by a 4000sq metres redevelopment project for the Club Leisure Group.

The country’s leading vacation club is refurbishing the ex-Beares building at 1 Crompton street to house their new corporate headquarters at a cost of just under R3-million.

The move from existing leased premises in Pinetown’s Hill Street has been prompted by the growth of organisation which is running at around 35% per annum.

The new headquarters will house the newly launched Corporate Club and the central reservations for Star, Flexi, Rainbow and Off-beat Vacation Clubs as well as the group’s UK and Europe operations. The resort management and holiday accommodation rental arm, Optima Management Services, will also be accommodated.

Rioma Cominelli, marketing strategist for the Club Leisure Group, says that the decision to stay in the CBD was easy. "Unlike many decentralised nodes, the city offers ease of transport for staff and ready access to all amenities", says Cominelli. "We also believe that business has a role to play in the ongoing viability of our cities and this had influence our decision to upgrade a CBD facility".

She adds that the refurbishment of properties also aids in motivating councils to improve the general housekeeping and upkeep of the city, as has been shown in the Cape Town city centre example.

Project Architect, Ernest Ford, comments that the refurbishment will carry elements of the aesthetic established by the Group in their resort upgrades.

Demolition work on the existing structure has already commenced and the project is scheduled for completion by November 1999.