Hot overseas interest as Summer Place - Hyde Park’s landmark property - goes on auction this week

The unique Summer Place in Joburg was all the rage in the 90s when businessman Solly Krok turned what was a luxury private home into an events venue. Now Summer Place, the home to many weddings and parties of South Africa’s well heeled, will come under the hammer on Wednesday.

The famous landmark - the place said to have put Hyde Park, Johannesburg on the map - has attracted buyers from across the world, keen to get their stake in the 40 000 square metres of land.

Located in exclusive Melville Road, it has operated as a world-class executive business, banqueting and conference centre since it was bought by the Kroks from oil millionaire Marino Chiavelli for R12-million in the 90s - the most expensive property acquisition in the country at the time.

Norman Raad, ceo of Broll Auctions and Sales, has touted the building as “ideal for a discerning developer and possibly the last such opportunity in sought-after Hyde Park”.

Extensive existing buildings include ballrooms, boardrooms, conference rooms, Summer House, a synagogue, a cottage and office space, with a borehole and generator.

Summer Place was originally an expensive home built by controversial oil baron Marino Chiavelli.

Chiavelli lived in the cottage on the property and always said one day he would move into the house, a close friend told us. However, he never got to make the move, was forced to sell the property and died, from leukemia, allegedly a poor man in the then Joburg Gen Hospital, now the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

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The rates on the unique and beautiful Summer Place is rumoured to be about R140 000 rates a month, so whoever buys it will need to cover that. It is believed that there is hot interest from two foreign buyers.

Stretching over three stands set in park-like grounds, manicured lawns with a breathtaking pool area, Summer Place is known for its stone eagles, which perch on the high walls surrounding the premises, and the imposing water fountain featuring dragons, horses and maidens by sculptor Danie de Jager.

“The purchase of such a trophy property, with iconic positioning in Gauteng just five minutes from central Sandton on the golden mile, is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the right buyer,” says Raad.

“It has excellent potential for future redevelopment for an astute purchaser – be it a residential developer, hotelier, or an entrepreneur.”

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