The Leonardo, which has steadily been rising above the Sandton skyline over the past two years will become the tallest building in South Africa – and Africa, for a time.

This was confirmed by Legacy Group CEO Bart Dorrestein, speaking to Moneyweb about the development.

BusinessTech previously spoke to Legacy about the skyscraper, after insiders in the construction industry placed the building’s final height at 227 meters – pushing past South Africa’s current tallest building, the Carlton Centre, by 4 metres.

However, the group said only that it would be 50 floors, and reach at least 220 metres high.

According to Dorrestein, the group made a conscious choice not to broadcast the plan to make the tallest building in the country, instead letting the tower speak for itself. However, he confirmed that the decision was taken in September 2018 to push beyond 50 floors, with the final build height now expected to reach 230 metres, and a value of R3 billion.

Initial design documents for the R2 billion skyscraper put the planned height of the building at 150 metres, with 42 floors. However, in March 2018, documents showed a phase development of 47 floors, with the building said to extend beyond 180 metres.

The Leonardo is a mixed-use development that will offer luxury residential units in the form of apartments and penthouse suites, as well as over 15,000 square metres of premium office space.

It will also house a business and conference centre and other amenities, like a gym and spa, restaurants and a lifestyle and recreation zone.

“We believe that The Leonardo will be the most technologically advanced, environmentally friendly building on the continent. That has certainly been the thinking behind the planning and development of the property,” Legacy said.

The building is expected to be completed in 2019.

Tallest in Africa – for now

While the completed building will become the tallest building in South Africa and Africa, the title for the latter will only be temporary, as Kenya has plans to steal it within the next three years.

The Pinnacle Tower in Nairobi, when completed, is planned to stretch over 300 metres into the air. Construction on The Pinnacle launched in January 2018, with a planned finish in 2021.

Read: A look at Sandton’s new tallest building, The Leonardo