Cape Town CBD reaches new heights

A 44-storey skyscraper will see Portside lose its title as the city’s tallest building

TWO NEW developments in the Cape Town CBD are set to rival the tallest building in the city, the 32-storey Portside in Bree Street.

Before Portside, the title of tallest building was held for more than 40 years by 1 Thibault, which was formerly the BP Centre.

Portside is a joint initiative between Old Mutual and FirstRand Bank, and houses the provincial headquarters for FirstRand’s three divisions – FNB, RMB and Wesbank. Old Mutual offers additional prime office space for leasing to corporate and retail tenants.

Development of Zero-2-One Tower – the working name for the soon-to-be tallest building in Cape Town – is scheduled to begin in April. In addition, 16 on Bree in Bree Street will soon be the tallest residential development in the central city.

Both buildings are being co- developed by FWJK Developments, which has been involved in a number of CBD developments in the past few years.

These include the redevelopment of Touchstone House in Bree Street and the new KPMG Office Tower on the Foreshore, which has the deepest basement excavation yet undertaken in Cape Town’s reclaimed Foreshore precinct.

“When complete, the Zero2-One Tower will be the same height as the Reserve Bank building in Pretoria and will be Cape Town’s tallest building,” says Stuart Chait, head of the Land Equity Group, co-developer of the new CBD landmark along with FWJK.

Land Equity has secured another two strategic blocks in the Cape Town CBD and plans to develop further mixed-use projects in the bustling node.

“We have raised significant funding for a R40bn pipeline of development projects across sub-Saharan Africa, and including South Africa,” says Chait.

“The new 16 on Bree forms part of the latest wave of development and redevelopment sweeping the central node, helping place Cape Town on a par with cities such as New York, London and Hong Kong,” says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group, which is marketing the luxury 36-storey retail and residential project.

Meanwhile, 16 On Bree is also within the urban development zone ( UDZ), which entitles buyers who let their apartments to claim the UDZ-accelerated depreciation benefits, says Laurie Wener, Pam Golding Properties senior executive for developments in the Cape region.

She says this is an attractive benefit for investors who are, in effect, getting interest-free loans from SARS over an

Top left, Portside, at 32 storeys it is currently the tallest building in Cape Town. Above, an artist’s impression of 16 on Bree, a tall mixed-use building planned for Bree Street. Right, an artist’s impression of Zero-2-One, the 44-storey redevelopment of the Old Mutual Centre and Exchange Place in the Cape Town CBD.