Inside the KZN north coast development in Zimbali that features a R350m home

Underground parking for almost a dozen cars, 10 en suite bedrooms, private lifts, an indoor cinema, up to five kitchens, multiple lounges, a fire pit overlooking the ocean and infinity pools are just some of the features the owner of an opulent R350m mansion will be able to brag about.

The home will be the grandest in a new development called Tatali — Arabic for “cascades” —  within the Zimbali Lakes Resort residential estate on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. Tatali will offer a limited number of properties ranging from R12.5m to R350m.

If the house fetches its eye-watering asking price it will become the country's most expensive private home, pricier than anything sold so far on Cape Town's Atlantic seaboard.

The Tatali estate will be built by IFA Hotels & Resorts, a Kuwait-based property giant that developed the adjacent Zimbali Coastal Resort and homes at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah — the palm-shaped island known for its luxurious properties.

The development will comprise 22 apartments and 21 mansions. Construction is expected to begin in April.

One of Tatali’s most extravagant features will be an oculus, an eye-like opening to the sky from the access corridor to the underground parking.

The R350m mansion will enjoy prime position at the highest point of the oculus.

News of the project was released to potential buyers and co-investors in December.

In recent years the north coast, particularly Ballito, has attracted people looking to relocate from inland provinces and commute to work.

Wayne Krambeck, Zimbali Lakes Resort's senior vice-president of operations, said an average of more than 30 families move to the north coast every month.

Samuel Seeff, head of the Seeff Property Group, said Ballito remained one of the most popular areas for “semigration” buyers — people relocating from one province to another in search of a better lifestyle.

“Ballito and Zimbali remain in high demand for their proximity to the King Shaka Airport and Durban. These have been among the fastest-growing areas in the country.”

Andreas Wassenaar, licensee for Seeff Zimbali and the Dolphin Coast, said the Zimbali estate had “boosted the status of the north coast to one of the top real estate belts in the country”.

“While Zimbali ranks as the top area in KwaZulu-Natal for super-luxury buyers and, alongside the Atlantic seaboard, attracts the highest volume of upper-income coastal buyers, it still offers excellent value compared to the Atlantic seaboard, with slightly lower price points,” said Wassenaar.

Of the 1,000 homes for sale in the greater Zimbali Lakes Resort, only 32 are left because the rest have been sold off plan, the developers said.

Krambeck said five properties in the Tatali development had already been sold.

Buyers were “definitely high net worth individuals, either very successful businessmen or professionals like surgeons and doctors. We have people in KwaZulu-Natal who can snap these [properties] up,” he said.

Krambeck expects most of the buyers to be locals or from the southern African region,  judging by Zimbali sales so far. 

“Of our mix of buyers across Zimbali Lakes, 55% are from outside KwaZulu-Natal,  35% are from the province and the remainder are international.”

Dave McGregor, Zimbali Lakes Resort sales and marketing manager, said the estate hoped to benefit from a growing trend to own more than one primary home. 

“People in Zimbabwe, for example, want their wives and children to be in a secure environment with access to good medical facilities and schooling, so they have two homes which they travel between. All of the surrounding countries where there are potential clients have direct travel links here,” he said.

Krambeck said another unique feature of Tatali is that “it’s the only zoning in the KwaDukuza municipality that allows a six-storey home to be built”. 

“This allows people to create multigenerational living in these mansions. The land cascades down, so everybody will have views. Some are onto the lakes and ocean, others are onto the lakes, ocean and golf course.”

The architects firm behind Tatali, Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen, is the same company that designed many of the homes on Cape Town's Atlantic seaboard — properties that have been placed on the market for more than R100m. 

“They will do all the conceptual designs of all the homes within the mansion development,” Krambeck said.

“They will sit with the clients and do the conceptual design, which we as the developer have already paid for. After they have done the conceptual design it will go to final detail design using local architects. 

“We are starting to cut platforms in the next couple of months.

“We want to sell enough of them so we can build the oculus and the basements so that the construction work is taken care of before the structures start going up.”

The oculus and underground parking are expected to be completed by 2024, while the completion dates of the homes will depend on the owners.

Greg Truen, a director of the architects firm, said the oculus turned the “mundane, functional route through a basement … into an exciting journey”. 

The opening to the sky “streams in an abundance of natural light”, allowing vegetation to flourish below ground level and provide shade and shelter for vehicles.

“All of these elements combine in this experiential design to set a high tone for the rest of the development,” Truen said.