Clifton house sale to fund City
THE CITY of Cape Town is auctioning off a prime piece of real estate in order to help fund its water projects.
The superlative beachfront property on Clifton’s 4th Beach will go under the hammer later this month and bids are set to reach millions.
The two-bedroom property on the slopes of the beachfront is among the City’s properties being assessed for its viability.
The City has appointed ClareMart Auction Group in a bid to maximise its revenue from the sale of non-core properties.
Stuart Diamond, mayoral committee member for assets and facilities, said the sale of the bungalow is to generate much-needed cash.
He said the monies could be used for either water projects or cross-subsidising social housing projects.
“We have taken the auction approach as this will help us get the maximum revenue out of the property being disposed off. The property is not needed anymore as we have no need to house officials or anyone else,” he said.
The house has an erf size of 357m² and comes with an open-plan lounge and
dining area, kitchen, a small garden area and patio with a pergola.
Asked if the property could have been used for housing purposes, Diamond said: “There is no possibility of any high density residential property development. The area is just not suitable. We have a requirement for funding at this stage as there are many water projects that need funding and with the national government cuts, it becomes even more important to generate income. We are busy looking at all our properties and if it is not needed we sell it or auction it off.
Tony Ehrenreich, Cosatu Western Cape secretary, who has been vocal on the Clifton bungalow sale, said any City property should be utilised for integration.
“Let’s use the land to integrate people. Even if it means that two or three black families are going to be living in Clifton. City land should not be sold off, lets rather utilise it… building houses in for example Khayelitsha is just as important as redistribution,” he said.
Andrew Koch, general executive director of ClareMart, said the property is idyllically located, but not in a good condition.
The auction will be held at the One&Only Hotel at the V&A Waterfront on March 27.