June 2004
Eagle Canyon Golf Estate is built on 300 ha of land situated in Honeydew, Gauteng. Originally, the land was divided into around 16 smallholdings, surrounding a body of water. One of the owners began extracting granite from his smallholding and soon thereafter, larger companies got involved and serious quarrying commenced. The land was then mined by various companies for around 40 years and grew in size and depth as time went on.
November 2004
During the latter part of 2001, a project manager, Tom van der Merwe and a friend in property marketing, Andre Wiese, visited the site of the mine and made enquiries as to the status of the quarry from the then owners, Messrs. Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete (PTY) Ltd. as the mine had practically reached the stage where extracting the granite became less and less profitable. Tom submitted a proposal to the owner to develop the land, utilizing the quarry area for a golf course and the surrounding area for a residential estate.
Whilst busy with the required investigation into the feasibility of such a development, Tom was approached by Mr.Smiley Schoon, a Property Lawyer, acting on behalf of Mr Jun Liu, a developer from China. Mr Liu, a developer with more than 15 years experience, was intrigued by the Golf Estate lifestyle and offered to buy the land from Lafarge.
May 2005
An experienced Town Planner, Nico Kriek was commissioned to produce a design incorporating the golf course, dams and leisure area in the quarry and more than 700 residential homes in and around the quarry.
Mr Liu purchased the land in 2002 and his dream of developing a Golfing Estate was born. Soon all the professionals were appointed and the mine rehabilitated, followed by the construction of the golf course.
The first phase of development, named Honeydew Manor Ext 5, was soon proclaimed and the search for a suitable name for the estate commenced. Combining the proximity of Roodekrans Black Eagle Project and the “Canyon” feel of the quarry, led to the selection of Eagle Canyon.