[Cape Town, 7 June 2005] The full Council of the City of Cape Town last week (31st May 2005) unanimously passed the proposals to develop The Claremont Boulevard. This means that construction will now commence in the latter quarter of this year on a proposal that has been on the drawing boards for over forty years, since the 1960s, with completion expected before the end of next year.

The Claremont Boulevard, previously referred to as either the Main Road Bypass or as the Claremont Relief Road, will be constructed alongside the railway line and will considerably reduce traffic congestion along Claremont Main Road. Commuters, shoppers and informal traders may now look forward to reaping the benefits of this project which will not only see the development of the R22-million "Claremont Boulevard", but will also see the construction of the Claremont Public Transport Interchange, a modern all-new multi-million rand transport hub opposite the station.

Says Chris Drummond, former Chairman of the Claremont Improvement District Company (CIDC) and project leader for the Claremont Boulevard, who has spearheaded the project since 2001, "What makes this initiative so unique is that, to the best of our knowledge, it's the first time that organised business together with a Local Authority have entered into a partnership of this nature whereby the property owners have agreed to pay additional levies in order to fund a major public infrastructure development.

"We have had overwhelming support - over 94% of property owners in the CIDC boundaries have agreed to pay an additional levy over and above their normal CIDC levy, to build the Boulevard. The City, in turn, has committed to developing the Claremont Public Transport Interchange, which will include a new health clinic costing R3-million, a taxi and bus terminal, as well as greatly improved facilities for informal traders. This is a significant partnership and is a win-win situation for all concerned, with the greatest benefit being felt by those who commute, live, work and shop or simply visit Claremont."

Claremont Main Road is presently not only notorious for its traffic congestion, but overcrowded pavements also cause considerable inconvenience and safety concerns for pedestrians. Many shoppers, employees and visitors in the area are reluctant to cross this unsafe and congested road or to navigate its pavements. The Claremont Boulevard will re-route traffic, making the Main Road more pedestrian and footfall friendly and will greatly improve the Claremont urban experience.

Anthony Davies, the Executive Manager of the CIDC said, "The Boulevard will drastically reduce traffic congestion on the Main Road. Traffic may, depending on motorists' choice of destination, be re-routed on to Letterstedt Road in the North and join the New Stanhope Road bridge in the South. There are no plans to close Main Road to traffic, but The Boulevard will be the catalyst to a vastly improved Main Road experience. This is particularly important, bearing in mind that within the next 18 months, Claremont will experience an influx of between 1 500 and 2 000 new residents moving into 750 new apartments which are currently under construction."

The face of Claremont's CBD has rapidly changed since the advent of the CIDC. To date, however, this has been hampered by pedestrian and traffic congestion, poor public transport, poor management of public parking and disparate development on either side of the Main Road.

This is set to change drastically for the better. Over the next eighteen months, in excess of R1-billion worth of new property developments - planned or currently underway - are anticipated to be completed within the Claremont CBD area by December 2006. Drummond believes this urban renewal impact exceeds any other experienced in any central business district in South Africa.

"If one considers the scale and quantum of the estimated new R1-billion investment that will come on stream by the end of 2006, plus the existing commercial property value in Claremont's CBD which is in the region of R2.5-billion, of which Cavendish Square comprises the greatest chunk, the total property investment in this area's urban renewal is nearly R4-billion.

I believe that for a non-greenfields development, this has to be the most significant urban renewal success story in South Africa today."

As a significant investor in the area himself, Drummond says the vision for Claremont has always been to look beyond purely controlling crime and grime and to focus on urban renewal. "This initiative in which local business partners with the City to deliver public infrastructure is, in my view, the blueprint for all future urban areas in South Africa. It will attract huge inward investment to the area and provides the template for a new investment attitude."

Current Chairman of the CIDC, David Stoll, is delighted that the Boulevard is to become a reality. "Like all things worth having, its taken a while to put in place. This next step in the improvement of the Claremont CBD, together with all the development, planned and in progress, makes Claremont a highly desirable location from a retail, residential and commercial perspective. In particular, Chris Drummond, Anthony Davies and our partners at the City of Cape Town are to be commended for their perseverance in achieving the green light for this project."

Said Davies, "Claremont has always been a very popular area to live in and to work because of its central location and ease of accessibility by road, rail, taxi and bus. The improvements initiated by the CIDC since we commenced our operations in 2000 have resulted in a massive turnaround in confidence and developers have invested significantly in our CBD. We remain committed to driving support for the implementation of initiatives that will continue to improve the shopping and commercial experience for all users of the Claremont CBD."

Davies said that construction on both Claremont Boulevard and the Transport Interchange is anticipated to commence in the last quarter of this year or first quarter of 2006.

"The City has already gone out to tender for the Transport Interchange.

Now that we have been given the green light, the CIDC is following suit immediately with both the Interchange and the roadworks being constructed in tandem.

"The CIDC congratulates the City of Cape Town for their massive contribution to making this ground-breaking partnership a reality.

Specifically Alderman Clifford Sitonga (Mayoral Advisory Committee Member for Economic Development) and Cllr Daniel Landingwe (Mayoral Advisory Committee Member for Transport, Roads & Stormwater) together with the City officials of the Claremont CBD Task Team under the chairmanship of Alwyn Laubscher, must also be applauded for their commitment and co-operation towards bringing The Claremont Boulevard project into being."

ENDS

ISSUED BY: The Phoenix Partnership

ON BEHALF OF: The Claremont Improvement District Company

MORE INFORMATION: Dominique Coetzee, The Phoenix

Partnership

(021) 422 2541 or 082 802 8184