“There has been a certain amount of down-scaling by existing (central city) office tenants, and some have moved to the new Boulevard Development in Woodstock, all resulting in increased vacant areas,” comments John Bielich, director of Ingenuity Property Investments. “Property, however, has a long term time horizon and one has to look to the future when conditions will improve and there will be a take up of existing vacant space, which will result in demand for new developed space.

New transport system

“The City's new transport systems, that will be coming on stream in future years, will dramatically improve the access to and from the city, helping to make the CBD the most desired commercial node in the metropolitan region. The Cape Town CBD has unique features that very few worldwide CBDs have and that no local decentralised commercial nodes can provide. We have a lot of faith in the successful future of the Cape Town CBD and hence are preparing to make a significant investment into its future,” says John

Developments continue to be underpinned by the ten-year partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Cape Town Partnership (CTP), which ensures that the central city is a clean and safe area to live and work in.

A key focus of the Partnership is attracting domestic and foreign investment into the central city by networking with property owners, developers, brokers, investors, bankers and statutory planning authorities.

More than R1 billion of development has been completed, or has been under construction, in central Cape Town during the past year. A proportion of the development, such as the One&Only, Cape Coral (the first luxury ‘dry’ hotel targeting Middle Eastern guests) and Taj hotels, is clearly geared at the very top end, hard currency visitor niche. Numerous other developments, however, will meet more modest yet essential needs such as central city housing accommodation, plus office space for police and security services. The restoration of charming listed buildings will also add to the long-term appeal of the historic central environment.

A complete R22 million refit to 101 Hertzog Boulevard, the old De Beers building, is currently underway for the Metropolitan Police headquarters. The eight storey building will offer four storeys of parking, and four of office space, totaling some 6000 m² and costing about R70 million, confirms the Georgiou Group’s Russell Fayle.

Energy consumption and sustainability have been taken into consideration by redesigning air-conditioning and circulation with a new flush glazed façade with sun shading and UV filtration. The Metro Police will occupy the full building from end-July.

A national government-owned building in Harrington Street, which is currently underutilised and houses the SAPS vehicle panel beaters, will be taken over by the National Intelligence Services during the lead up to 2010 and throughout the FIFA World Cup as its command centre for handling all security issues. Temporary road closure between Longmarket, Harrington and Canterbury Streets has been approved and a basic R4 million revamp is taking place under management of the Public Works Department.

Director of dhk Architects, Peter Fehrsen, confirms that his firm has prepared an office/commercial/retail concept for a full city block within Bree, Leeuwen, Loop and Dorp Streets. This site was sold in August 2008 to the Province by a private developer and it is now owned by the Department of Public Works.

Property surrounded by Bree, Mechau and Loop Streets and Hans Strydom Avenue has been bought from the Farber and Curry owners and will be developed by its joint owners Ingenuity Property Investments and Redefine Property Fund, says John Bielich.

Farber building

The original Farber dealership building, one of the last remaining examples of Modern Movement architecture in Cape Town, is being retained in its entirety. Construction of a new building will start as soon as possible once outstanding local authority approvals and a certain amount of pre-letting have been finalised. It will consist of a basement floor of parking, ground floor retail, nine floors of parking and eleven commercial area floors suitable for office, hotel or even leisure usage.

“The design and quality of the finishes and services to the building will be of the highest standard and will achieve a premium/ AAA grade,” says Bielich. “Many green building standards will also be included in the design by architect Dennis Fabian.”

Architectural firm dhk is also preparing an urban design master plan for “an enormous piece of property” representing six city blocks, says Fehrsen. The whole development will be some 200 000 m² of bulk in the Oswald Pirow/Culemborg area. Edge Properties and a number of partners have secured the lease. This is a mixed use scheme with office, retail, residential and hotel opportunities, and concepts are being developed for individual site buildings. A number of appropriate height buildings will flank the highway, with the possibility of a few taller towers as well. Parking will be in a super basement and will also fit neatly under the highway. It will have strong links to the bus rapid transport system, and is being planned from the outset as a sustainable development that will include “a hierarchy of public spaces”.

As for cultural heritage, the neoclassic building in Buitenkant Street known as the Granary is finally receiving much-needed maintenance and restoration work. It started off as a customs house and is considered one of the most important architectural buildings in the city: It was designed by French-born South African architect and engineer Louis Michel Thibault and was one of the last buildings in which he collaborated with architect Herman Shutte and sculptor Anton Anreith. The City has signed an 18 year lease with the Cape Town Heritage Trust for redevelopment and management of this important building. The Granary will house creative and cultural industries and form part of the East City Design Initiative.

City Hall

For years the fate of the beautiful old Italian Renaissance-style City Hall has also been in the balance, its interior increasingly worn. Now a report has been submitted, and approved by Council, to begin consulting the public on its preferred use. This public participation process should take six to seven months and the next phase of the process should start around March next year, depending on public input.

Media 24 will also move from Green Point to 19 Bree Street (the former MCS building, next to the old Moulin Rouge) in September, occupying the entire 6000 m² building, following a Georgiou Group first phase renovation. “We are optimistic about the Cape Town CBD,” confirms Fayle.

The City has given the go-ahead to mixed-use development which will set new city records for both the tallest skyscraper at 150 m, and allowable bulk at 60 000 m². Portside will be built between Hans Strijdom Avenue and Mechau Street, along Buitengracht Street, in a development (benchmarked according to the Green Building Council of South Africa’s Green Star rating system) comprising 24 office floors (33 000 m²) above a ten-storey hotel (14 000 m²) and retail (2 500 m²) component. Parking will be on five basement and eight above-ground levels. Building should be completed by 2012.

In the hotel sector, heavyweight international hotel brands will offer not only luxurious accommodation with views of Table Mountain, but will also have complementary lifestyle offerings such as spas, premium boutiques, elegant jewellery stores and top restaurants.

The 15 on Orange development, near the Company Gardens, for example, will combine hotel suites and luxury apartments plus commercial, parking and retail space. The Rezidor Hotel Group too is developing a new lifestyle Hotel Missoni featuring 157 designer rooms, opening its doors in 2010. The group has signed a worldwide licence agreement with the iconic Italian fashion house Missoni and the hotel will feature a signature Missoni Cucina restaurant, bar, rooftop terrace with a cantilevered swimming pool and views of Table Mountain, spa and small meeting and private dining facilities. It aims to capture the celebrity market as well as business travellers looking for an exciting and trendy destination. The Hotel Missoni Cape Town is owned by Phelan Holdings, a property development company formed by Irish businessman Paschal Phelan.

As the Partnership marks ten years of making the Central City a clean, safe area for residents and visitors alike, property owners, while cautious under current market conditions, are clearly still forging ahead with developments that will continue making the city a desirable business and living locale long after the final 2010 vuvuzelas have blown.