Pearlstone a leading light on East London’s commercial property scene

Pearlstone a leading light on East London’s commercial property scene

Towards the end of last year when SAPOA East London hosted its bi-annual SAPOA Buffalo City Developers Awards evening, Pearlstone took top honours and was awarded recognition for Commercial Office Developers in East London.
The award was for the new Nedbank corporate office in Cedar Square office park on Bonza Bay Road in Beacon Bay.
The offices were described as restrained, with the development designed around an open court mediating between the public double-volume entrance space and the more intimate board rooms and offices surrounding the peaceful courtyard. Careful use of cantilevered overhangs to large glazed areas, the judicious use and management of low-energy lighting and the provision of extra water tanks in the basement all contribute to a sustainable environment. This offers the tenant a bespoke, inspiring space, enhancing corporate productivity and efficiency.
Pearlstone Investments' Terry Cook likes to incorporate natural light and air, and merge internal and external spaces at the same time. This is not always possible because of the clash between viability and aesthetics.
"We always try to bring a brighter atmosphere into the work environment, as well as to embrace energy-efficiency," she says. "We used contemporary materials sourced locally where possible, blended into a customised, practical aesthetic. As an instruction, we give all the usual ecofriendly and sustainable elements as main governing requirements to the architect.
To get an overview of East London's commercial real estate scene, I asked Cook what was happening in Buffalo City. "Competition is unusually tough in the resent climate, with a more competitive rental market emerging," she says. "Being a relatively small player for the past 10 years, I have focused on small-ish, niche developments. We constantly refresh our development profile, ensuring that we remain competitive and contemporarily relevant. Some of our older anchor tenants are asking for refurbishments and reassessing their space requirements rather than moving to other rental properties. Naturally, we've done those refurbishments, and we work extremely hard to deliver against their ongoing expectations. Our tenant profile is a prized fundamental in our business, and includes nationals such as Nedbank, PwC, Transnet, Old Mutual and Eskom."
Asked whether businesses are moving into East London, Cook feels there are changes that can encourage new business to come to Buffalo City. Initiatives such as Call2Action are having positive effects on the city. The municipality has been efficient and helpful in the past - but since the new SPLUMA legislation has come in, Cook has noticed delays in getting approvals from the necessary departments. 
"Technology will have a huge effect on how we develop office spaces," she says. 
"Flexitime and ease of getting to the places of work all have governing effects on the work environment. We also have to take into account what the modern trends are - some corporate have changes from cubicle-type offices to open-plan and back again, looking for a happy medium. Break-out rooms smaller meeting rooms and intimate spaces for meetings seem to be the norm. 
"We see a circle of trends. Take the Nedbank corporate offices as an example: the banks need was to bring utilities and people into a single building, which meant we were in an ideal position to deliver a new quality building. We may not necessarily be getting new business into East London - but the bigger corporate are rationalising their space and have a need to bring their staff together in a single building."
In terms of her plans for the future, Cook is looking at the hospitality sector. "There seems to be a need for niche, almost boutique business accommodation," she says. "Yes, the traditional hotel chains have small-roomed facilities on offer - but those don’t really have any personality to them. What interests me is that, looking at a lifestyle business hotel where all the usual facilities are available, it’s not quite a B&B and no quiet a five-star hotel. It’s something that, as a busy business traveller, you'd feel more at home with - trendy and intimate, yet businesslike."