Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2016 | Page 50

TRENDS The Trend of Sustainable Amenities Crystal Lagoons T he list of investor needs and requirements is growing and, in order to set themselves apart, developers are responding to the growing need to be “eco-friendly”, and also to provide amenities for fun and recreation. Crystal Lagoons, a multinational technology and innovations company, has started a real estate revolution around the world, enabling the creation and maintenance of unlimited sized bodies of crystal clear water at very low construction and maintenance costs, which, when included in property developments, have contributed to exponential growth in sales prices, sales velocity as well as increase in project density. The key though, is that these lagoons use 30 times less water than an average golf course and a half of the water used by a park of the same size, answering the need for sustainable amenities boasting both recreational features as well as natural beauty. Crystal Lagoons, the world’s top amenity, can use any water type – fresh, salt, or brackish. Patented in 160 countries, Crystal Lagoons is revolutionising world markets in areas of urban development, tourism, public space and industrial applications. The company, involved in over 400 projects in different stages of development in 60 countries, has recently established an African base in Cape Town, and Alastair Sinclair, Crystal Lagoons’ Regional 48 AUGUST 2016 SA Real Estate Investor Director for Africa, says that despite the continent being a water-scarce region of the world, a Crystal Lagoon is a sustainable and eco-friendly prospect for developers because of the value that the technology and concept adds. Due to drought, and the vast amounts of water required to keep golf courses going, many residential estates in South Africa are unable to keep up the maintenance required to remain operational. Crystal Lagoons have transformed distressed golf estates into hugely profitable investments – in Santo Domingo in Chile, the Las Brisas de Santo Domingo estate experienced an increase of more than 220 percent in unit prices following the addition of a Crystal Lagoon. Ken Jowdy, CEO of Legacy Properties, says of their addition of a Crystal Lagoon at The Resort at Diamante, Cabo San Lucas in Mexico: “The Lagoon opened up a new demographic for us. We used to be a golf-centric sales organisation, but having family amenities that attract the full spectrum of luxury buyers whether golfers or not, has allowed us to market and sell to visitors that we could not convert previously.” In Chile, the San Alfonso Del Mar resort originally planned 400 residential units. Due to increased demand created by the addition of a Crystal Lagoon, the project expanded to 1400 units and now attracts www.reimag.co.za