THE historic Arlington Racecourse in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) is about to make history one last time when it becomes South Africa’s first racing track to go under the auctioneer’s hammer later this month.
Described as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for any property developer, the 62-hectare piece of vacant land in Victoria Drive, Walmer, is owned by Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, the country’s largest horse racing and tote betting operator which is undergoing business rescue.
The business rescue plan provides for the sale of the company’s assets and payments of the net proceeds generated to creditors in terms of the provisions of the Companies Act.
“We have received numerous enquiries from residential and industrial developers throughout South Africa and I think this boils down to how unique this opportunity is, and the significant upside of a completed development in a great countryside setting,” said Ish Hendricks, Group Auctioneer for Broll Auctions.
“It is adjacent to the popular suburb of Walmer Heights and with easy access from Victoria Drive or Glendore Road, it is the last large piece of land within the hub of the main city, less than ten minutes from the airport, and making it ideal for residential estate development or an industrial park, subject to approvals from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.”
An application has been submitted to rezone from undetermined to special purposes for residential units.
“The land, which has structures befitting a racetrack such as a pavilion and stables, is being sold ‘voetstoots’, as-is,” Hendricks said. “Most property developers, who are considering ideas such as student accommodation, micro apartments and retirement villages, are incorporating the iconic pavilion into their development schemes.”
Arlington, previously St Andrews Racing Club, was opened on 23 December 1950, by the then Mayor of Port Elizabeth, J.C.K. ‘Boet’ Erasmus. Its last race was run in 2013 and, according to Business Insider, was preceded by Phumelela’s last-ditch attempts to offload the property to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Africa Race Group (ARG).
According to an IOL article, Phumelela has been battling for survival since Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found the 1997 memorandum of understanding between the Gauteng Economic Development Department and the Gauteng Horse Racing Industry to be illegitimate.
Phumelela’s last set of results revealed that losses from operations for the six months to end January 2020 widened to R93.5 million, with local operations recording a combined loss of R115.1 million, but its international operations remained profitable, according to IOL.
The auction will take place at 10.30am on 23 April 2021 at the Radisson Hotel in Gqeberha.
