Five new major property developments have gone into the planning phase and another seven proposals have been initiated in Cape Town’s CBD since the beginning of the year
The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) estimates the combined minimum value of planned and proposed developments for the Cape Town CBD to be more than R2bn.
The 12 new developments have all been announced since the CCID compiled its last Property Investment Update at the end of 2015, according to CCID communications manager Carola Koblitz. Says Koblitz: “We keep tabs as far as we can on all developments underway or on the cards in the Cape Town CBD. The minimum value of projects completed during 2015 was R987m. That of projects currently under construction is R4.571bn.
“The minimum value we can currently ascribe to new projects in the planning phase is R912m and well in excess of R1.1bn for developments at the proposal stage. We say ‘minimum value’ as we rely on information from those developers who are prepared to attach a value to development publicly; not all are willing to reveal these figures, so the eventual investment amounts will always be higher.”
The five new developments that have gone into planning since the published 2015 update are:
• 4 Loop Street A mixed-use building upgrade that will include a residential component by FWJK Developments on behalf of Berk Property Holding (estimated value R20m)
• The Telkom Exchange in lower Long Street on the Foreshore A mixed-use building upgrade by Telkom (value TBC)
• The redevelopment of the Mike’s Sports site on the corner of Strand and Bree streets Gera Investment Trust is heading up this development (value TBC)
• The upgrade of The Capetonian Hotel at Pier Place on Heerengracht By Raya Hotels (estimated value R200m)
• Urban on Bree A residential extension for completion in Q4 2017 on behalf of Urban On (value TBC).
Rob Kane, chairperson of the CCID, says that one of the most thrilling aspects for the organisation is to see the spread of development occurring across the entire footprint of the CBD – from the numerous new builds going up in the Foreshore area (which includes the new Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital) to the current refurbishment of important public buildings such as schools, courts and museums in the older part of the CBD.
Kane says the CCID also eagerly awaits the City’s determination on the submissions for the Foreshore Freeway Precinct project and hope that the outcomes will live up to the expectations being placed on this area’s transformation, particularly with the possibilities around the provision of affordable housing.
