Growthpoint Properties has signed a new seven-year lease agreement with washroom and hygiene specialists Serra Services for its new industrial development Meadowbrook Estate 2.
Located in Ekurhuleni, Meadowbrook Estate 2 is directly adjacent to Growthpoint’s Green Star SA-certified Grundfos development. It comprises nearly 1,000m2 of office space and 6,500m2 of warehouse space, which has been sectioned to support Serra’s business needs.
Growthpoint Properties industrial division head Engelbert Binedell explains that Serra had investigated various properties prior to selecting Meadowbrook Estate 2. “It offers Serra an ideal location, but also provided a blank canvas that has been modified to their exact manufacturing needs,” says Binedell.
Creating space to match Serra’s business model, its new warehouse was divided into four distinct operation areas: a 340m2 laundry area, a 1,400m2 manufacturing space, a 200m2 polishing room and a 4,560m2 storage and distribution area.
Jason Reeves of Growthpoint’s Industrial Property team reports the development has created a business space that uses water wisely. A water attenuation pond located on the property provides Serra with a water storage facility for their laundry facility and gardens. This green feature incorporates an underground reinforced concrete tank for the collection of storm water. The tank has the capacity to store 250m3 rainwater, which can then be used for other purposes.
“Sustainability was a major focus for this development, for both Growthpoint and Serra,” points out Reeves.
The building’s reinforced concrete used a mix containing between 30% and 35% fly ash extender, resulting in a reduction of the Portland cement content of the concrete. In addition, reinforcing steel for the concrete structure was manufactured from recycled steel.
The main window façade of the building faces southwards, offering plenty of natural light, and the main entrance from the west is shaded from direct sunlight with a concrete facade wall. The glazing in the office also enhances energy conservation and the air-conditioning system for the office has been designed to minimize the energy used in its operation.
Serra’s new home also features energy-efficient lighting and occupancy sensors in the office. In the warehouse, the lighting system has been designed with a dual circuit, allowing for 50% of the lighting to be switched off when lower levels of lighting be required.
Serra installed further greening elements to the building, including a 37.8kWp Solar PV system on the roof of the property, a water filtration plant to recycle all the water used in its laundry process, and heat pumps to ensure that the water is heated up in the most energy efficient manner possible. In addition, it has a building management system that monitors and controls building equipment more efficiently, reducing its operating costs while lowering its energy use and its carbon footprint.
Adding all these features to ensure optimal performance takes quite a bit of time. To accommodate this, Growthpoint worked closely with Serra to ensure they had sufficient time over five months to install everything required specific to their optimal operations.
“This deal extends the ongoing good relationship between Serra and Growthpoint. Serra provides its hygiene services to Growthpoint and this transaction further cements our business relationship, providing both parties with the potential to do more business together in the future,” says Binedell.
