Mirage to raise green bar
Increased tourism sees investor confidence deliver mixed use development to Cape Town, writes Anna-marie Smith
OVERSUPPLY of stock at outlying coastal destinations remains a financial burden to many Western Cape property owners. However, savvy investors who recognised high-end opportunities during the downturn are participating in increased development as tourism and migration to Cape Town gains momentum.
Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk recently commented on the growing numbers of visitors to SA: “Last year we grew at more than double the world average — 10.5% for January to November, compared to a global average growth of 4%.”
He said: “With growth rates of more than double the world average and quadruple the world average if one takes overseas visitors into account, we can look back … favourably on last year.”
Cape Town’s status as a worldclass business, leisure and residential destination is luring investors wanting a share of future profit earned from demand and supply, across all market sectors. While infrastructural development and improvements to the city’s public transport system attract tourism, they also drive demand for rentals, resulting in good occupancy rates, in particular at top-rated hotels.
PricewaterhouseCoopers last month reported that increased tourism would boost demand for five-star hotels ahead of that for four-star facilities in the next five years.
Although Cape Town’s desirable Mediterranean lifestyle provides top-end investors with a high-yielding commodity, particularly over long periods, con- sumers pay hefty price tags for exclusivity, from hotel rooms, penthouses and residential apartments, be it for purchase or for rent. Areas thriving on high investment value due to demand are located within close proximity to the city, such as the Atlantic Seaboard, V&A Waterfront.
Newly revived areas including De Waterkant and Green Point are seeing further rejuvenation as a result of exclusive developments by large international hotel groups and private developers.
Marketing specialist of top-end developments in Cape Town, Rob Stefanutto, MD of Dogon Group Properties, says the central positioning of exclusive city facilities, offer a European lifestyle with secure and easy access close to the bus rapid transit public transport system. The latest of seven collaborative initiatives in the stable of Dogon Group Properties and city developer Nova Group, will open its doors in November. Mirage is a top-end R400m, mixed-use development consisting of a hotel, residential and retail development. This project is a collaboration between Standard Bank Property Finance Division, developer Nova Group, and Kevin Gadd Architects, and is exclusively marketed by Dogon.
Property developer Nova, is no newcomer to inner-city development, with projects under way, including Crystal Apartments in Campsbay and the Orchards in Fresnaye. Developer David Bunce says Mirage’s, positioned in a central city at De Waterkant, will be the product of long-standing business relationships in the city.
Once completed, the 18-storey Mirage building will offer panoramic views of the Cape Peninsula from apartments and hotel rooms. It will also feature a first for the city, in the form of a Skybar and restaurant on the top level, as well as a 10m swimming pool. Stefanutto says the four Mirage luxury penthouses on the 16th level had been sold to a foreign buyer from Germany, for R28m, with sales concluded for 80% of the apartments. Also included in this mixed-use development are two levels of retail space and a 63-room, five-star hotel which will be independently owned and managed by a yet to be confirmed European hotel group. One- and three-bedroom apartments measuring from 150m² to 200m² are priced between R1.8m and R8.9m.
Architect Kevin Gadd of Kevin Gadd Architects, says special attention has been paid to management initiatives to promote best practice environmental management. Examples are quality energy consumption, reduced fuel emissions through bicycle storage facilities for residents and visitors. In addition is the modelling of the building according to Green Star Standards, to achieve a 32% improvement in heating and cooling energy over a notional best practice building.