Home.
Unity.
Justice.
300 mixed-income rental homes in Johannesburg's next urban node.
DBSA-backedEDGE-certified pathwayBuilt for resilient operating costs
August 2026 · Confidential
Home.
The opportunity02The opportunity
A DBSA-backed, 300-home mixed-income rental development in one of Johannesburg's fastest-moving residential nodes, ready for blended construction capital.
300build-to-rent apartments on about two hectares, 11 km from Sandton
R24mDBSA Green Fund preparation facility committed
91%occupancy across 2,032 comparable rental units
EDGEcertified pathway, with energy and water measures costed into the scheme
The askequity, concessional and grant capital to complete the construction stack
Working project position, August 2026. Final capital quantum and instrument mix follow the financing-model review.
The opportunity03The deal, in numbers
Pre-Option 3 working model, July 2026, ex financing. Option 3 rerun pending.
R456mtrended development cost
10.3%levered IRR, working case
2.33xmultiple on invested capital
The deal
300 build-to-rent apartments on two hectares. Area and mix await reconciliation to the submitted Option 3 schedule.
Stabilised yield on cost of about 7.2% against a 6.5% exit cap.
Stabilised net operating income of about R33m and net exit value of about R674m.
The market it sits in
12.0% gross yields in the node, against 11.4% nationally.
91% occupancy across 2,032 comparable rental units.
R7,000 to R12,000 per month is the country's best-performing tenant band.
Pre-Option 3 working figures. Rerun against the submitted schedule is pending before an investor model pack is issued.
Context04Why Linbro Park, why now
11 kmfrom Sandton
5 minfrom Marlboro Gautrain
~101new families each month across the 10-suburb catchment
Ten years ago, Linbro Park was a patchwork of logistics yards and agricultural holdings on Johannesburg's eastern fringe. Today it is one of the city's fastest-growing residential nodes.
Major developers are active, an upcoming mall sits across the street, and the R18 billion Bankenveld District City is being built next door.
Growth is here. The question is what kind of place it creates.
The housing gap05The market builds units.
It does not build neighbourhoods.
Linbro Park's renters are young and employed. They can pay. What they cannot buy here is a neighbourhood.
Every new development competes on unit count behind a wall, so the choice is a flat in a phase, or a home too far from work.
Linbro Gardens is built the other way round: shared gardens, human-scale streets and community infrastructure in place of walls.
One neighbourhood. Different incomes. One entrance.
Market evidence06What an independent study found
Rainmaker Marketing, February 2026. Sixteen comparable developments, 298 sales transfers, 207 buyer leads and agent interviews.
99%occupancy at the largest comparable scheme
91%average occupancy across 2,032 rental units
12.0%gross yields in the node
74%of buyers under 40
R7,000 to R12,000the country's best-performing rental band, with 88.9% of tenants in good standing
6 to 8%measured premium for green-certified comparable product
Above 90%occupancy for every end-user-focused development in the benchmark set
Occupancy from Rainmaker's benchmark set. Market findings do not guarantee Linbro Gardens performance.
The landowner and the vision07Jocelene's story
Jocelene Dikeledi Mpofu bought this land with her mother and sister, with the intention of building a mixed-income, ecologically sensitive community. Both have since passed. Trees stand on the site in their memory.
Today the project company is majority black-woman-owned, with Akoma as minority partner and development manager.
“A place where the children of doctors and factory workers can play, learn and grow together, seeing each other's mutual humanity.”
The development08What we're building
Linbro Gardens is a neighbourhood, not a housing estate. Housing that generates community, community spaces that generate economic activity, gardens that generate food and connection to the land.
Mixed-income rental housing
Same blocks, same doors, same gardens.300 rental homes across the full range of incomes. A third are inclusionary, and nothing on the outside tells you which.
300 homes · 100 inclusionary · 31 to 87 m² NIA
House of Exploration
A building that teaches while it is being built.Early childhood development, workshops, coworking and training under one roof.
711 m² · events · coworking · training
Urban agriculture
Food grown where people live.Two thousand square metres of productive garden, resident plots, training and recreation.
2,000 m² · resident plots · on-site produceIndependent retail
The shops belong to the neighbourhood.Small stores run by local businesses: a cafe, a bakery and a fruit and vegetable store.
150 m² · SMME-run · everyday and artisanalAccommodation schedule09Mixed-income housing as the economic backbone
The residential development carries the project's financial viability while critical communal spaces are woven into the same neighbourhood.
Use typeHomesNIA m² / home
Inclusionary10031.1
One bedroom9245
Two bedroom7572
Three bedroom3387
Total300
Current Option 3 schedule: 31.1 m² NIA per inclusionary home; submitted compliance measure: 35.2 m² gross. Final areas remain subject to design development and costing.
Design principles10The life between the buildings
Linbro Gardens is designed around what happens between the buildings: light, air, thresholds and shared ground. In the comparable set, end-user-focused and green-rated schemes hold above 90% occupancy, while green-certified product carries a measured 6 to 8% premium.
Public space
Living typologies
Resilience at the heart
Operating resilience and EDGE11The regenerative edge
Where municipal infrastructure is under strain, resource efficiency becomes a competitive advantage. For residents it means lower, more predictable bills. For investors it means lower operating exposure and a certified, differentiated asset.
35%modelled energy reduction against the EDGE baseline
26%modelled water reduction against the EDGE baseline
~70%of modelled site electricity from solar and battery
Solar PV and battery storageRainwater harvestingPassive comfortEDGE-certified pathway
Current costed pathway, subject to final model, evidence and certification process. Higher certification levels are not claimed.
Financial case12The financial case
Pre-Option 3 working model, July 2026, ex financing. Net development cashflow, pre-tax.
Capital is deployed from 2027 to 2030. First income lands in 2029 and operations stabilise from 2031. Sell-down optionality is retained.
Concessional and impact-aligned tranches alongside senior debt are intended to lift investor-level returns while holding rents at the levels the market has validated.
~R456mtrended development cost
~10%levered IRR working case
~2.3xMOIC
~R674mnet exit value
Pre-Option 3 working outputs. An Option 3 rerun is pending before target returns are confirmed.
Funding structure13Funding structure and the ask
Senior debtLocal bank and DFI debt expected to fund part of construction
Blended layer soughtFirst-loss, concessional, quasi-equity, equity or grant capital
EquityAligned project and investor capital
The ask
This raise is about fit, not just volume. The project needs patient capital in the layer of the stack where it does the most work: absorbing early risk, unlocking senior debt and holding rents at the levels the market has validated.
Current diligence materials cover planning, infrastructure, the EDGE evidence pathway and capital-stack structure. The updated financial model follows the Option 3 rerun.
Complete design and procurementInstall bulk services and start constructionBuild the leasing and operating platform
Final quantum and instrument mix follow the financing-model review.
Anchor partner14
Backed by the
Development Bank of Southern Africa
The DBSA Green Fund committed project-preparation funding after assessing viability, team capability and alignment with national development priorities.
R24mproject preparation facility
Design and engineeringPlanning and approvalsMarket and viability workSteering oversight
No construction-phase commitment is presented as settled.
Delivering impact15Delivering impact
A more humane and ecological approach to development, measured against how well the project serves its local and global environment.
30%+of homes reserved for inclusionary housing
Majorityblack-woman-owned project company
~9,241 testimated CO₂ avoided over 25 years, net of embodied energy
30%of construction value targeted to SMME procurement
NDP 2030CoJ SDF 2040CoJ Inclusionary Housing PolicyDBSA Green Fund MandateSA NDC Targets
Impact measures remain subject to design, procurement and verification.
Systems change16A model that travels
Linbro Gardens is a live test of whether mixed-income rental housing on an EDGE-certified pathway can be delivered viably at the price points where demand is deepest.
If it works here, the financing and delivery model can be repeated in other South African growth nodes.
Build oneMeasure itRepeat what works
Capital here delivers one resilient asset and tests a template for greener, more inclusive housing.
Progress and milestones17Where the project stands
Land is held in the project company. The township package, including the inclusionary-housing election, went to the City on 11 August 2026. Everything from here runs off the planning decision.
Done
Land secured in the project company
R24m DBSA Green Fund preparation facility in place
Public participation complete with no objections
Eskom confirmed 1 MVA supply capacity in writing
Option 3 inclusionary package submitted on 11 August 2026
Viability and market studies complete; initial EDGE modelling completed
Next
City feedback and township determination
Independent green-building consultant appointment
Eskom quotation within the energisation lead time
House of Exploration feasibility study
Geotechnical fieldwork and structural design
Blended-capital outreach and senior-debt diligence
Roadmap18Next steps and indicative timelines
202620272028
Planning and approvals
Design and funding
Construction
Leasing and operations
The critical path runs through the township decision.
The dependencies are understood. Dates remain indicative until the planning gate closes.
The team19The development team
Akoma is the development manager and minority partner. The team has delivered housing in Linbro Park and projects across four continents, with experience in design, construction, financial modelling, green building and stakeholder coordination.
Professional team
Starfield ArchitectsArchitecture
KDMQuantity surveying
CiteplanTown planning
GreenSpace Africa and Solid GreenGreen building and EDGE
Rainmaker MarketingMarket research
CDHLegal
Civil and structural engineering appointment remains in final procurement.
Validation20Institutional validation
The strongest validation is procedural: the project has been scrutinised, refined and kept moving by the parties responsible for funding, approvals and delivery.
DBSA Green FundR24m committed to project preparation with steering oversight
Public participationCompleted with no objections
Municipal inputsJRA and Joburg Water approvals received subject to conditions
Independent studiesMarket and viability studies complete; initial green-building studies completed. Independent review and certification remain pending.
PlanningTownship and inclusionary-housing package submitted to the City
The remaining work is visible and finite: close the planning gates, finish design-cost alignment and complete the blended-capital stack.
Why Linbro Gardens21Home.
Unity.
Justice.
Three hundred rental homes. One neighbourhood. A diligence conversation for the capital layer that can unlock it.
Open a diligence conversationConfidentialDBSA-backed and preparedR24m committed to preparation
Measured rental market91% comparable occupancy and 12% gross node yields
Mixed-income by design100 inclusionary homes, integrated without external distinction
EDGE-certified pathwayResource efficiency costed into the scheme
The next stepReconcile the Option 3 model, then review the updated capital-stack structure