Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
FIRST Mutual Properties (FMP) says construction of its US$6 million Arundel Office Park block will be complete by September this year and expects a rental yield of either 7 or 8 percent.
This comes as most traditional blue-chip tenants are moving away from the growing disorderliness in the Central Business District (CBD) mainly characterised by noise pollution, high traffic congestion and a lack of parking space.
In an interview with The Financial Gazette on the sidelines of the Arundel Office Park new block showcase, FMP’s managing director, Christopher Manyowa, indicated that they are in the last mile of the project.
Christopher Manyowa, the Managing Director of First Mutual Properties
“We are doing what we now call fit-outs, which is your tiling, your final fix in terms of electrical installation, the wall tiles. We are also now doing the ceiling tiles and we are just finishing off the façade in terms of this tiling,”
“We think this is a month to two months maximum in terms of time to completion. So, a completion date of the end of August and, at the latest, into September,” he said.
The building project, which commenced in November 2022, is a double-story structure that features an office block with basement parking.
The parking provision is for 75 cars and in terms of lettable area, the building is 2600 square metres.
As part of its efforts to reduce the carbon footprint as a contribution to the national development agenda, FMP has installed a 65-kilowatt solar plant, which is enough backup to supply.
The funding model for the project was a mixture of internal operating cash flows and debt funding.
“The investment value of this building is currently at US$5 million to US$6 million, maybe to completion, let’s say, plus or minus US$6 million. We have a strong belief that, as Zimbabweans, we can do a lot with what we already have. And the generated rentals were all not utilised for either operating costs or other expenses.
“But we actually said, Let’s put aside something to grow the portfolio because we are a growth-oriented organisation. So, when we put in operating cash flows, we always put something aside to put in there. We also have other assets that look tired and no longer fit into our portfolio. We also offloaded those and put them into this project. Of course, finally, if you are operating a property company.
