By Graham Norris Property Editor -
Dirty Dicks, the pub and restaurant that has been a Hout Bay landmark for 20 years, is to be demolished to make way for an upmarket residential development called The Quays.
The R100 million development will consist of 30 apartments and five penthouses, each boasting a large balcony overlooking Hout Bay harbour and Chapman's Peak and the Peninsula mountains across the bay.
The developer is Roy Cohen, who has owned the property since the early 1980s. Cohen, who describes the site as "one of the few totally wind-free areas in the Cape Peninsula", says Dirty Dicks was rebuilt four times in 14 years to comply with the requests of the different owners of the business.
Now the entire property is being transformed into a modern five-storey residential complex that will feature a roof garden with a rim-flow swimming pool, bowling greens and golf putting and chipping greens. The development, designed by Louis Phillips Architects to blend in with the curving slopes of the mountainous nature reserve behind it, will also have a gym and secure basement parking.
Each unit will have two parking bays and a storage room. A coffee shop, book shop and health deli is planned for the ground floor. The apartments will have two or three bathrooms, an imported Italian open plan kitchen and a dining and living room. Each unit will be air-conditioned with under-floor heating. It is also planned for the apartments to be automated and included in the price will be a start-up automation system. Project manager Hugh Sundelson of the Project Room said the spacious two- and three-bedroomed apartments would be between 135m2 to 376m2 in size. Prices start at R2.6m for the apartments, while the penthouses range from R6.69m to R8.64m.
Sundelson said these price tags represented "outstanding value", because they translated to R19 000 to R22 000/m2 for the apartments and R23 000/m2 for the penthouses. Apartment prices on the Atlantic Seaboard were as high as R30 000/m2, he said. "The Quays is the first truly residential development at the Hout Bay Waterfront," said Sundelson. "It offers a unique lifestyle for its residents as it is situated opposite a working harbour and also close to magnificent beaches." The development is a fitting finale for a story which began in 1981, when Roy Cohen, who is a diamond cutter by trade, bought a boat from author Wilbur Smith, called Skimmer.
One Saturday afternoon he and his brother took the boat around to Camps Bay for some cocktails only to have the engines die on them. Skimmer was taken back to the Hout Bay harbour to get her fixed. The mechanic told them that unfortunately there was no space for Skimmer to stand while he fixed it.
Cohen saw an empty space across the road, next to a small cafe and approached the manager to find out if he could rent the empty space. The manager said no. Cohen fell in love with the piece of land and the more he thought about it, the more he became determined to own it.
"This was no place for a little cafe," he said. He then went directly to the owner to find out if he could buy the place from him. After much deliberation the owner sold the place for a "hiked price".
This was the start of the well-known and much loved Dirty Dicks. For more information on The Quays contact Hugh Sundelson on 083 6012472.
This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Argus on July 10, 2004
Publisher: The Argus
Source: The Argus
The Quays to take position of Houtbaai landmark
Posted On Monday, 26 July 2004 02:00 Published by eProperty News
Landmark for 20 years, is to be demolished to make way for an upmarket residential development called The Quays.
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