Massive Bo-Kaap development gets the green light

SOON a new development will dot Cape Town’s skyline, with approval finally being given to a 4000m2 mixed use development on the city centre’s eastern edge.

The new building on Buitengracht Street will house retail, lifestyle features and 250 residential apartments.

Property developer Jose Rodrigues said the building was approved after extensive public consultation.

“The development enjoys a prime position in Cape Town’s CBD between Riebeeck Square and the Bo-Kaap. We will completely transform the site which is currently occupied by a nondescript concrete edifice which functions as a car dealership.” Rodrigues said the new development was expected to provide an additional R1 billion investment in the city and create from 300-500 direct and indirect jobs during the two-year construction phase.

It will target a Green Star rating by incorporating environmentally sensitive development and modern energy efficient technology, he said.

“With over R8bn worth of construction already earmarked for the city centre over the next four years, Cape Town is well ahead of other South African metros in terms of infrastructure, business growth and its ability to attract investment,” said Rodrigues.

He said the new development was fully aligned to the core objectives of the city’s new spatial planning legislation to redress the spatial ills of the apartheid era and break down the barriers of inequality.

“The development will advance these objectives by removing the old “buffer zone” of motor industry and manufacturing in the Rose/Buitengracht edge and replace the obsolete space with a fully integrated, mixed use residential development, ” said Rodrigues.