Waterfall city: The Gauteng smart hub where you lease, not own

Key topics:Waterfall City operates on 99-year leasehold, not land ownership.Carrier-neutral WAN provides ultra-fast fibre to multiple ISPs.Attacq drives growth via offices, retail, and data centre expansion..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Jan Vermeulen.Waterfall City in Midrand is one of South Africa’s premier smart cities, serving as an economic hub in Gauteng while operating under a leasehold rather than ownership model.The precinct is blanketed by a carrier-neutral, open-access fibre network operated by Waterfall Access Networks (WAN), which provides fibre line rental access to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).Any acknowledged ISP that has an agreement with WAN can access and use its network infrastructure in Waterfall, within the prescribed WAN commercial and technical parameters.“WAN has brought in some of the world’s best cutting-edge networking technologies through DasanZhone GPON and Active Ethernet,” the company said.“Due to this, our network is geared to deliver some of the fastest transfer rates in Africa.”The 2,200-hectare precinct, which falls under the City of Johannesburg, is built on land that cannot be bought or sold because it is a waqf, an Islamic charitable endowment.This means every resident and business operates under a 99-year leasehold agreement rather than freehold or sectional title ownership..Read more:.The Afrihost story: From humble beginnings to top ISP in SA.The land is owned by the Waterfall Islamic Institute (WIC). It was founded by the Mia family, who bought the original farm in 1934 for £16,000 from an insolvent estate.Adjusting for inflation using the Bank of England’s official inflation calculator, that would be roughly £1,003,155 in 2026, or R22.5 million.The Rand was introduced in 1961 when South Africa became a Republic. As a former British colony, it had continued to use pounds until then.South African pounds were at parity with the UK pound sterling in 1934 after a brief decoupling when the UK abandoned the gold standard in 1931.Under waqf principles, the land on which Waterfall City is built is dedicated to Allah and the community. All profits must be used to fund charities, including education and various social projects.For property investors, this structure offers distinct advantages and disadvantages. For one, because land is never “transferred” in the typical sense, buyers are currently exempt from transfer duties.“Transfer fees can be exorbitant, so I would say that this is appealing for an investor,” prominent property expert Ash Müller, of Ask Ash, has stated.Müller also explained that lease agreements are registered at the Pretoria Deeds Office, which is not the norm for leases.“They are renewable after the 99-year period with an infinite number of extensions. The lease cannot be cancelled,” she said.“You can sell your property at any time during the 99-year lease, and the new owner will receive a brand new 99-year lease.”99-year lease and fees explained.Specifically regarding residential developments on the land, Müller said that when lessors sell their apartments, certain fees would still apply.Müller explained that they would pay an agent’s commission, capped at 5%, and would be liable to pay 3% plus VAT of the total sales price to the Islamic Institute.“If your 99-year period expires, you can renew the lease agreement with the trust and pay them 3% plus VAT and 0.5% to the residents’ association based on the current market value of your apartment.”In the event of death or divorce, the trust does not require the parties or inheritors to pay the 3.5% plus VAT to continue the lease.“Banks treat these lease agreements as bondable assets, and that is great.” Müller believes that banks funding these projects with leases in place and having title deeds issued could be game-changing.“It could change the game when it comes to unlocking the potential of homelands and areas under traditional ownership in South Africa,” she said.Waterfall City history.The precinct’s history is rooted in the 1850s with a farm named Waterval. It was named after a small waterfall found on the vast 3,400-hectare property.The first documented owner of Waterval farm was a Miss Pimond, the woman who sold the land to the Gibson brothers.These British settlers, who arrived in South Africa around 1871, became the first official title-deed holders of the farm.Their primary business was operating the Red Star Line stagecoach service, transporting passengers and goods between major settlements.The Gibson brothers established a stopping point for travellers known as Halfway House. This strategic location later became the core of the multibillion-rand city.Today, the city hosts corporate headquarters like PwC and the Mall of Africa. It also features numerous schools, including Curro and Reddam House campuses.The scale is reflected in the financial results of real estate investment trust Attacq. Its latest interim results, published on 10 March 2026, showed Waterfall City remained a core growth driver.Attacq holds notarial leasehold rights in Waterfall City through a 70% subsidiary. Its investment property valuation in the precinct grew by 3.8% to reach R14.8 billion.Financial performance and growth.Attacq’s Distributable Income from the precinct rose to R216 million for the six months ended 31 December 2025, a 17.5% increase over the prior year.It reported that the Mall of Africa maintained a strong occupancy rate of 98.6% and continued to attract new brands, such as Coach.Attacq said demand for corporate collaboration hubs remained high. It successfully attracted 12 new corporate clients, including Tiger Brands, Boogertman + Partners, and iOCO.The overall occupancy rate stood at 86.2% by the end of the period, and Attacq reported a client retention rate of 85.8% across the commercial portfolio in Waterfall City.Beyond offices, the precinct is expanding its technology footprint through a joint venture between Attacq and Vantage Data Centres.The newly completed JNB 12.1 facility is a 11,151m² data centre. It is 100% occupied and carries a property valuation of R616.7 million.The facility is underpinned by a 20-year lease. This provides Attacq with secure, long-term income stability for its technological infrastructure..Read more:.Fortress Real Estate Investments delivers strong 1H2024 results: Simplified capital structure and robust operational performance drive growth .It features four data halls with specialised design efficiencies. The electrical load will ramp up to 16MW, supported by six backup power generators.This building represents only half of Phase 2 of a larger campus, which Attacq said signals ongoing growth in Waterfall City’s massive technological footprint.Vantage Data Centre in Waterfall City.More photos of Waterfall City.Mall of Africa aerial view.This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission.

Waterfall city: The Gauteng smart hub where you lease, not own

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