Affordable housing project kicks off
Plan starting this month for 4 000 families to live near CBD
THE COUNTDOWN has started for the City’s much anticipated affordable housing project that will see 4 000 families housed in areas close to the city centre. The City said its affordable housing projects will start this month.
According to Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, affordable housing opportunities will be on well-located Cityowned land.
“The importance of this occasion cannot be overstated. Developing prime land for lower-income residents in Cape Town is a momentous occasion. These sites are less than 5km away from the Cape Town central business district,” Herron said at a ceremony yesterday .
“They are located within the Voortrekker Road Corridor Integration Zone (VRCIZ) – one of three integration zones where the City will, during our term of office, spend the bulk of our capital budget on infrastructure aimed to transform Cape Town’s spatial reality.”
Herron said the location of these sites resonates with the plan that the VRCIZ will link the Bellville, Maitland, Parow, Goodwood and Salt River CBDs with the Cape Town CBD via Voortrekker Road.
“The development of 11 City-owned sites in Salt River, Woodstock and the innercity for inclusive and affordable housing opportunities must also assist us in preserving the social diversity and unique character of areas like Woodstock and Salt River in the midst of rapid urbanisation and rising property prices.
“Furthermore, it must expedite the provision of affordable housing on well-located land close to work opportunities and public transport. We estimate that once completed the developments will benefit at least 4 000 lower-income households,” Herron said.
Five City-owned sites will be made available to the private sector for the development . They are: erf 12814 in Pickwick Road in Salt River – the site is approximately 3.3ha and is a few hundred metres from Victoria Road where residents have access to minibus taxis and buses. There’s the Woodstock Hospital site in Victoria Walk – erf 14888 in New Market Street; the site is 8 483m² and is situated next to the MyCiTi bus route. The third is erf 5667 in Canterbury Street in the inner city.
“In addition, three sites have already been allocated to social housing institutions for the development of social housing opportunities. The statutory land-use applications are under way and we expect construction to start in due course: two erven along Pine Road and six erven along Dillon Lane. The Pine Road development will start first, with the Dillon Lane development as the second phase.
“The Salt River Market in Albert Road will be a mixed-use development with a combination of affordable housing opportunities – from social housing (subsidised rental units for households with a monthly income of less than R15 000) to GAP rental housing (for households with a monthly income of between R3 500 and R20 000) to retail and office space,” Herron said.
He added that two sites have been identified for Cape Town’s first inner-city transitional housing project: the development of a portion of the Pickwick site, on the corner of Pickwick and Copperfield roads in Salt River, for transitional or semi-permanent housing (development will initially house residents who are now living on the Pine Road site) and erven 12010 and 12011 in James Street in Salt River will be developed as transitional housing for residents now living at the Salt River Market.