City Welcomes R1.2 Billion Development in CBD

the city of cape town has given the green light for a r1,2 billion development on the foreshore, known as the malgas site.

the 3 500m2 property is situated between hans strijdom avenue and mechau street along buitengracht street with a very prominent and strategic location at the entrance to the city.

according to councillor simon grindrod, mayoral committee member for economic, social development & tourism, this will be cape town’s single biggest development since the establishment of the victoria & alfred waterfront.

the malgas site was sold by the city in may 2007 to the old mutual property group for over r89 million.

at the time executive mayor helen zille said that this initiative was an excellent example of “how the private and public sector could work together in realising the city’s strategic objectives of economic growth and development”.

the city’s spatial planning, environment and land use management committee (spelum) has now approved the height waiver which will allow the development to go ahead.

“this is another illustration of how the public and private sector can work in harmony to create investment and jobs for the residents of cape town ".

“the city welcomes the mixed use development of hotel accommodation and commercial space. with a height of about 150 meters, it will be the tallest building in cape town. the allowable bulk is approximately 60 000 square meters, which is another record.”

“the development will comprise 33 000 m² of offices, 14 500 m² of hotel accommodation and 2 500 m² of retail space. this is a significant show of confidence on the part of south africa’s largest financial services company in cape town’s cbd,” says cllr grindrod.

according to mansoor mohamed, the city’s executive director: economic, social development and tourism, this is old mutual’s largest project in cape town to date.

“the city of cape town is busy implementing an infrastructure led economic development strategy. i am very satisfied that it took such a short time of 12 months to progress this transaction.

“the development is important for a variety of reasons including the social and economic benefits. one of the conditions of sale was that old mutual should prioritise the building of 564 residential units and a retail and commercial development of about 6 000m² on a 10 hectare property in khayelitsha.

“this is an example of how the city will use strategic parcels of land to stimulate economic growth in areas where it is most needed. the city welcomes the additional hotel and office space that will lead to more jobs for the economy of cape town. i would like to commend my colleagues in the city’s planning department for a job well done,” says mohamed.