10 .. | FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014 INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES properties GONDWANA GAME RESERVE A home owned by Rein van der Horst and Arnie van Opstal. They spent about 6.7 million rand, or about $624,000, to build the 450-square-meter house and rehabilitated a nearby water hole that they can see from their Jacuzzi. How to build a game reserve? Add a housing development MOSSEL BAY, SOUTH AFRICA Sales of housing plots allow husband and wife to finance wildlife park BY SUE CHESTER From the time he was a child, Mark Rutherfoord wanted to own a game reserve. But it wasn’t until he met and married Wendy Trees, a New York advertising executive, that his dream began to come true. Today, they own Gondwana Game Reserve, a 27,000-acre private reserve that is a mix of safari tourism and low-density real estate development. The site, about 200 miles east of Cape Town, markets itself as the only freeroaming Big 5 game reserve in the Western Cape area. And it is covered with fynbos, a mix of proteas, ericas and restios plants that bloom pink, yellow and violet year-round — a vegetation that the World Wide Fund for Nature says is endangered. Mr. Rutherfoord met his future wife in 2003, when a client rewarded Ms. Trees with a trip to a Kalahari game reserve. He had been asked to play host to some of the group members and, after spotting Ms. Trees, was relieved when she stepped into his Land Rover. Four months later, they were living together in the desert. ‘‘It was a magical time for us, with no distractions and living in such a beautiful and remote place,’’ Mrs. Rutherfoord recalled. It also became the catalyst for Gondwana. ‘‘We really wanted people to also experience nature on their doorstep as a resident, just as we had — not just as a short-term visitor,’’ she said. Mr. Rutherfoord considered looking for affordable land on which to build a safari lodge in Zambia, Mozambique or Malawi, but Mrs. Rutherfoord’s marketing instincts led them to the Western Cape, the region in the southwestern corner of South Africa that includes the Garden Route, a popular tourist destination and vacation home area. A small group of family and friends provided the initial capital investment, but the couple then had to determine how to finance the rest of the multimillion-dollar project. The solution appeared when Mrs. Rutherfoord’s father took them to visit a conservation project in Illinois. The Lake Forest Open Lands Association, a nonprofit organization, buys urban wasteland to restore to its natural state, financing the projects through membership dues, donations and land sales to private owners for small-scale residential development. In 2004, the couple had bought the first of the eight farms that now make up the ‘‘We really wanted people to also experience nature on their doorstep as a resident, just as we had.’’ reserve. They decided to include a lowdensity real estate development, so they installed underground electricity and water in a 30-mile area and began accepting home site reservations a year later. Gondwana’s 96 home sites — 81 of which have sold — were placed in five corners of the park, leaving corridors for the animals to roam. Four of the five housing areas are fenced to keep homeowners safe from predators. ‘‘We fenced in the people,’’ Mrs. Rutherfoord AUCTION 06.26 2 PREMIER TORONTO PROPERTIES said. The one exception is Fynbos Camp, which is near Kwena Lodge, the reserve’s 14-suite hotel that opened in 2010. Each 2.47-acre site includes the freehold title to a building lot of about 300 square meters, or 3,230 square feet. The remaining leasehold land is designated for the homeowner’s use and may be landscaped with local plants such as yellow woods, ash, wild plum or grewia, all available for sale in the Gondwana nursery. Owners may choose a builder recommended by the Rutherfoords or opt for their own design and contractor, as long as they stick to the reserve’s environmental management plan and architectural guidelines. As Mr. Rutherfoord described them, the residential villas are ‘‘tucked in’’ to the landscape, with a maximum building height of about 6.5 meters, or 21 feet. Many have typical African thatched roofs, although slate and dark tile are also options, and there is a choice of seven earth-tone facades. Metal window frames and corrugated roofs are permitted if they are painted a specific brown to blend in with the surroundings. Sites begin at 1 million South African rand, or about $93,000. A turnkey option, available for three- and four-bedroom villas, starts at 3.5 million rand. Villas typically face north for all-day sun and are U-shaped, with two bedroom wings that protect the central deck area and its open fireplace from the wind. Homeowners pay a monthly service charge of 2,390 rand, which includes use of the residents’ clubhouse, Lehele Lodge; potable water; refuse collection; security; and the right to use vehicles within the reserve. The Rutherfoords say they want homeowners to feel part of the game reserve, so they have a social weekend once a year and occasionally organize events such as ‘‘Throttle the Wattle,’’ to remove unwanted vegetation. Many homeowners have donated animals, including rhinoceroses, water bucks and giraffes, to the reserve. Rein van der Horst and Arnie van Opstal, who own a home in the Milkwood Valley area, not only bought two hippos but also rehabilitated a water hole that they can see from their Jacuzzi. Mr. Van der Horst and Mr. Van Opstal had planned to buy a winemaking estate in Franschhoek, an area east of Cape Town, but changed their minds when a friend called. ‘‘He was standing on a plot in Gondwana and told us that it was so beautiful that we had no other option than to buy it,’’ said Mr. Van der Horst, general manager of Genpact Africa, a business consulting firm. The site, which they bought in 2007, is in the reserve’s walking area, a 2,500acre belt with extra-high fencing so homeowners and tourists can hike, fish, bike and picnic in safety. The couple hired the construction company that built Lehele Lodge, and paid about 6.7 million rand for a 450square-meter home. The three-bedroom house has a kitchen that they imported from Europe and a basement with a wine cellar, sauna and home theater. In 2012, they invested in an adjacent plot, where they built a second house with 250 square meters of living space and 100 square meters of decking. They visit every other weekend from their Johannesburg home and spend most of their vacations at Gondwana. ‘‘We love sitting on our deck, watching the zebras drink at our water hole and eland graze in the ‘garden,’’’ Mr. Van der Horst said. ‘‘One of the funniest moments was an ostrich tapping on the window when it saw its reflection.’’ Designer homes rise up in Tijuana TIJUANA, MEXICO Minimalist architecture in demand as violence subsides in Mexican city BY LIZA FOREMAN 75 HIGHLAND CRESCENT FOUR SEASONS PRIVATE RESIDENCES 4403 WAS $23.9M // OPEN 1PM–3PM DAILY & BY APPT WAS $10.95M // NO RESERVE // SHOWINGS BY APPT 13,610sf smart home // 4 beds // 4 full & 3 half baths 3,422sf // 2 beds // 2 full & 1 half baths CONCIERGEAUCTIONS.COM // 212.257.5174 Real Estate Inc., Brokerage 75 HIGHLAND CRESCENT LISTED JAY BLEIWEIS, SALES REPRESENTATIVE FOUR SEASONS PRIVATE RESIDENCES LISTED BY JANICE FOX, BROKER 75 Highland Crescent is listed for sale by Forest Hill Real Estate Inc. (4714268), 1688 Avenue Rd., Toronto, ON M5M3Y4, (416) 785-1500. Listing agent Jay Bleiweis, Sales Representative (1221152). 50 Yorkville #4403 is listed for sale by Hazelton Real Estate Inc., (169200) 45 Avenue Rd., 2nd Floor, Toronto, OR M5R2G3, (416) 924-3779. Listing agent Janice Fox, Broker (1621174). Concierge Auctions, ULC — 100 King Street West, Ste 5600, Toronto, ON, M5X 1C9, Canada — is the provider of auction marketing services and is a not a licensed brokerage. The services referred to herein are not available to residents of any state where prohibited by applicable state law. Concierge Auctions LLC, its agents and affiliates, broker partners, Auctioneer, and the Sellers do not warrant or guaranty the accuracy or completeness of any information and shall have no liability for errors or omissions or inaccuracies under any circumstances in this or any other property listings or advertising, promotional or publicity statements and materials. This is not meant as a solicitation for listings. Brokers are fully protected and encouraged to participate. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details. Real Estate: Residential Sales French Riviera RARE TOP FLOOR with TERRACE DIRECT OWNER - JUAN LES PINS ANTIBES. Exceptional 3-room 90 sq.m. very bright, modern high class fittings in secured residence, closed garage. Air conditionning, electrical shutters, opening on very deep and sunny terrace 45 sq m. superb views on sand beach, sea side and mountains. Like Green and Picasso discover the real art of living on the French Riviera close to Cannes, Mougins, Monaco and Nice airport, Antibes/Paris TGV. Enjoy sailing, skiing, golf, tennis activities. E 775,000. Mail: [email protected] Switzerland Italy FLORENCE Well-kept 2 1/2 beds, 1 bath, living rm, kitch, all mrble flrs. Prkng can be bought. Close to amenities & dwntwn. 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The growing demand for designer homes, they say, is being driven primarily by Tijuana natives returning to the city, which was once a glamorous gambling getaway for Hollywood celebrities but in more recent years has been the setting for roadside kidnappings and daylight shootouts between rival criminal groups. ‘‘It is very safe now. It’s living through a post-traumatic stage, and there is a very strong cultural boom,’’ said Alfonso Medina, 31, an architect and builder who was born in Texas but raised here. Mr. Medina showed a visitor around his architectural office, T38 Studio, which he established in 2009 just before graduating from the Southern California Institute of Architecture with a master’s degree in design and research. The office, where seven architects work, is in an upscale residential area overlooking the seemingly endless brown sprawl of this city of 1.3 million. He also has a branch office in New York. Mr. Medina then displayed some of the 37 minimalist houses he has designed and built in the past eight years. He is now working on seven more, as well as two apartment blocks. According to a government housing report, there were an estimated 458,000 units in Tijuana in 2013, up from about 370,000 in 2008. Most of the developments in Tijuana are for upper-middle-class families, Mr. Medina said, but the spare designs and basic building materials, especially concrete, used by Mr. Medina and others make it possible for more residents to have designed homes. ‘‘The idea is that architecture is not only accessible to those people that can afford to commission it, but that it’s available to a wider audience,’’ he said. Jorge Gracia, another local architect, estimated that at least 12 other architects in Tijuana were doing such starter designer homes. He said he had designed about 55 in the region since 2004. ‘‘I’m attracting young couples that want to build their first house, couples around 30 to 40 years old,’’ he said. Mr. Medina said building costs in Tijuana were about 40 percent less than they would be in the United States. And he has negotiated with local developers to reduce the size — and therefore the cost — of building lots. PHOTOGRAPHS BY LIZA FOREMAN Recent projects by the architect and builder Alfonso Medina include the home of Francisco and Nora Carranza, top, and the home of José Anaya and Pamela Rebolledo. His most recent commission, completed in December, belongs to Francisco Carranza, 52, an agricultural entrepreneur, and his wife, Nora, 49. They live with their daughter Daniella, 23, a graphic designer and business manager. The concrete house, which is painted a dark marine blue and measures about 290 square meters, or 3,100 square feet, cost $240,000 to build. The focal point of this three-bedroom, four-bath house is an outdoor atrium. It is flanked by the living room and the open-plan dining and kitchen area. Unfinished concrete steps lead to the bedrooms on the floor above. There is also a small decorative pool in the narrow back garden, which overlooks the city. Another house, completed last June at a cost of $250,000, belongs to José Anaya, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, and Pamela Rebolledo, a 31-year-old lawyer. The home, with its angular white facade, was designed by Peter Zellner, an architect based in Los Angeles, in collaboration with Mr. Medina. Mr. Zellner said he had enjoyed the experience. ‘‘There is a real demand for innovative architecture in Tijuana and, unlike in Los Angeles to the north, an architecturally designed first home is well within the reach of many people,’’ he said. ‘‘Working in Tijuana taught me how to bring chance and improvisation into my work, in creative ways that are rarely possible in North America for legal or financial reasons,’’ he continued. ‘‘Often we worked out things in the field, making the drawings on site.’’ The two-story concrete home has about 300 square meters of living space, with three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. The entry door opens onto the living room, which has a large fireplace and views of the walled garden and the city beyond. There also is a combined kitchen and dining area. Stairs of unfinished concrete lead to the bedrooms on the upper floor. ‘‘We are in love with the view of the city, but we also love the concrete finishes, the fireplace, the spaces of the house and communication between the spaces,’’ Mr. Anaya said. The couple said that they had confidence in the city where they had built their home. ‘‘I’ve seen Tijuana grow and change,’’ said Mr. Anaya, who was born in San Diego but raised here. ‘‘It’s a city of great opportunities. We are on the correct path.’’ Mr. Medina agrees with his clients. In Tijuana, he said, ‘‘right now there is a lot of creative energy. It feels like Berlin after the fall of the wall.’’