Investing in Communities Beyond Property

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6 June 2025

Property companies have traditionally focused on providing spaces and services. Increasingly, though, they are expected to invest in the well-being of the communities they serve, particularly in the face of pressing socio-economic challenges.

Divercity embraces this responsibility.

Through our division, Ithemba Property Management, we invest in the people living in our precincts by supporting initiatives in wellness, education and neighbourhood improvement. This is not a box-ticking exercise. It reflects a genuine commitment to social upliftment.

We run several initiatives across our residential precincts to foster environments where tenants and the wider community can thrive, with a strong focus on families and youth. We have expanded this work and 2024 was a milestone year of real impact, creating an exciting platform that we continue to build on in 2025.

To support our tenants, many of whom are working parents, Divercity partnered with Play Africa, a registered NGO. Play Africa runs twice-yearly educational programmes for children in our precincts during school holidays. These sessions offer structured play rooted in science, maths and cognitive development, while giving parents a safe, reliable childcare option.

We also recognise that safety in housing can take many forms. In partnership with others who share this priority, we support local shelters. At Barlow Park, our mixed-use development in Sandton, Divercity and Checkers provided essential groceries, baby supplies and household goods to The Lighthouse Baby Shelter, which also supports vulnerable families.

Sport is another key pillar. We see it as a powerful tool for youth development, encouraging teamwork, responsibility and healthier, more inclusive communities. Several of our precincts host sports clinics, open to both residents and neighbours, with training and mentorship from former professional footballers. A recent highlight was our August 2024 clinic at Onyx lawns in Jewel City, Johannesburg, delivered in partnership with the NWU Eagles soccer and netball teams.

Our support extends to health, wellness and mental resilience. Working with healthcare providers, wellness specialists and NGOs, we have broadened access to mental health services and general health awareness. Residents can access free monthly sessions on stress management, HIV testing, family planning, pap smears and other screenings. We also run structured fitness programmes, including weekly yoga and exercise classes at selected precincts.

For leisure and community connection, Jewel City in Johannesburg has become a local entertainment hub, hosting monthly outdoor movie nights and live broadcasts of major sporting events.

In response to Johannesburg’s ongoing municipal challenges, Divercity continues playing a part in revitalising the city. A pilot project beneath Joe Slovo Bridge has expanded to 12 green, chemical-free public urinals, offering safe and dignified facilities in a high-traffic area. As part of the Jozi My Jozi: Light Up Jozi campaign, we are also helping to transform the bridge into a cleaner, safer and more welcoming public space.

This work is ongoing. In every precinct and partnership, Divercity and Ithemba remain focused on building better places to live and stronger, more connected communities. As 2025 unfolds, we continue to invest in people, place and potential, guided by a belief that property can be a platform for lasting social impact.

Previous Posts Divercity Announces Landmark Acquisition of 1,600 Residential Units in Sunninghill

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services.

Our impact

Over the next five 5 years, Divercity expects to construct more than 10,000 new and green affordable residential units in centrally-located neighbourhoods, expanding housing options close to economic opportunity for low- and middle-income households. Construction of the new residential units will help address the growing housing deficit and issues of spatial segregation in South Africa.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to develop reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all

Our impact

Divercity is providing housing in locations that are connected to existing infrastructure, such as healthcare, schools, jobs and parks. This serves to reinforce accessible and equitable cities, as well as strives to break the destructive pattern of South Africa’s apartheid infrastructure and planning.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related disasters

Our impact

More compact cities – enabled through the kind of development that Diversity advances – are associated with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions, better land-use, and energy and resource efficiency, based on research 1 we’ve done with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBSCA) and Arup. Divercity has a commitment to minimising greenhouse gas emissions and is already supporting climate change mitigation through a range of measures, such as rooftop solar arrays, energy and water efficient design in all of our buildings and EDGE rating of all new developments.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure equitable and quality to pre-primary, primary and secondary education and lifelong learning

Our impact

Through our Ithemba Upliftment Foundation, we are contributing to early childhood development, enabling hundreds of young children to receive quality education at Daycare Centres in our precnits. This is in addition to the widened access to formal education facilities that are part of our developments, and our efforts in supporting lifelong learning through supporting adult education.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, renewable and modern energy sources

Our impact

As the cost of renewable energy generation capacity becomes more accessible and affordable, we are integrating these technologies more broadly across our residential portfolio. Divercity is focussed on eco-responsible housing as a viable means to contribute to sustainable and environmentally friendly urban development – through rigorous adherence to green building standards, including the use of energy efficient LED lights, rooftop solar arrays, energy efficient hot water generation and energy efficient building design.

By 2030, the UN’s goal is to encourage and promote effective public, private and civil society partnerships to attain the global goals

Our impact

Our partnerships empower us to champion progressive policy that supports sustainable development. One impactful example of such a partnership is our work with Green Building Council South Africa (GBSCA) and Arup, the global multi-disciplinary firm, on a research project on the enormous environmental and economic costs of the current dynamic of urban sprawl in Johannesburg. Through this project, we developed actionable recommendations for policymakers, investors and other stakeholder groups.
You can read more about the research project, titled: Does location matter? here.