The tallest building in Africa, Leonardo, is officially open for the public and ready for occupation. The 55-floor mixed-use property development which stands at a height of 234m (768 ft.) on a 3200 meters squad piece of land was officially opened with developers, Nedbank Property Partners and Legacy Group saying the 240-suite hotel and residences were ready for occupation. Legacy Hotels & Resorts CEO & Chairman Bart Dorrestein said all the offices in The Leonardo are purchased and 90% of the apartments are sold. “Our owners are scheduled to take occupation on a phased basis commencing March 2020,” he said.
Legacy development has already bought 10 floors in the building where they plan to establish a luxury hotel in the future. Above the development floors, there are eight penthouses and the Leonardo suite, reaching from the 49th to the 55th levels. Located on 75 Maude Street, approximately 100 meters from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton, South Africa, The Leonardo, was last year declared by a US-based news corporation as “one of the most anticipated buildings on the world in 2019” alongside other exclusive projects like the world’s largest underwater restaurant in Norway dubbed Under and Beijing’s new Daxing airport.
The development includes two levels of public areas off the street linked by an escalator to an interactive lobby space which will be home to the reception area for the 230 apartments which rise up to the 41st level, penthouse suites with their own gardens and 7500 meters squad of sectional title offices.
The building also features a landscaped garden, restaurants, a bar, a crèche, a gym and a spa which will be linked by shuttle lifts directly into the parking garage. The Leonardo Building now takes the crown of ‘Africa’s tallest building’ from the Carlton Centre, a 50-story building approximately 223 meters tall, in downtown Johannesburg. The groundbreaking of the Leonardo began in 2015 and was completed in 2019. it reportedly cost R3 billion (US$202.8 million) to construct.
Africa’s Tallest Skyscraper
