Not cool by the pool!
Kalk Bay tycoon’s plan ruffles ‘world’s coolest neighbourhood’
● A Cape Town property mogul’s plans to build micro-apartments in the heart of Kalk Bay has ignited a battle for the soul of SA’s “coolest” neighbourhood.
Businessman Tony White last made headlines for blocking a public pathway to tidal pools adjoining his popular Brass Bell restaurant. Now he’s in the spotlight for doing the opposite — a plan to attract visitors to rental apartments in the historic heart of one of the world’s 11 coolest neighbourhoods, as it was voted by Forbes magazine in 2018.
Kalk Bay’s reputation as a global tourist hotspot owes much to its history as a fishing harbour that partly survived apartheid forced removals — many traditional fishing families remained, adding to the suburb’s diversity. But soaring property prices and gentrification mean Kalk Bay is now becoming a victim of its own success, with upmarket mansions replacing fishing cottages as a defining feature.
White wants to develop apartments on top of the heritage building that houses Kalk Bay’s well-known Quagga bookshop, which has a front façade covered in paintings by prominent South African artist Ben Coutouvidis. Three other apartments are planned for an adjoining plot that currently houses a popular laundry — possibly the only one in the country with a piano — that sometimes doubles as a night-time entertainment venue.
The development is detailed in a heritage impact assessment currently circulating for public comment ahead of submission to the provincial heritage authority, which will then make recommendations to the City of Cape Town. White this week confirmed he also has plans for a development above the popular Kalk Bay bistro Lekker, which occupies one of his Main Road properties.
“There are some people who support me, and some are anti me — that is life. People resist a place being gentrified,” White said, adding that this was the first development in years along the Main Road stretch. “I think if you are unbiased you would say the development is tasteful and enhances the streetscape of Kalk Bay. The building façade [of the Quagga bookshop] will remain the same because it has a strong heritage component.”
The plan includes underground parking
“to make the development feel less cluttered,” White said.
News of White’s development ignited local social media chat groups, in which some accused him of self-interst at the expense of the broader community. Of particular concern are outdoor restaurant structures surrounding city-owned tidal pools. However, White said the poolside structures, on land he leases from the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, have uplifted the area to everybody’s benefit. He said security concerns prompted him to lock an interleading gate between his restaurant and the harbour, but the public can still get to the area via a subway.
White’s micro-apartment plan is due to be aired next week at a public meeting chaired by architect Matt Pretorius, who said the proposed development aims to be lowkey and enhance the Kalk Bay visitor experience. The heritage features of the front façade will be restored and retained, Pretorius told the Sunday Times. The onus is on professionals to police the line between heritage and development, he said.
It’s a line often crossed to the detriment of the community, according to long-time resident Bishop Geoff Davies, who experienced first-hand the march of progress when a neighbour’s double-storey (triple with excavated “basement”) impinged on his view.
Davies, the former priest of the local Holy Trinity Anglican Church, this week said the community is concerned about the area losing its unique character, which also owes much to its cobbled streets and old-world architecture.
Local property owner Kevin Poggenpoel, whose family has historic ties to the Kalk Bay fishing village, said the loss of fishing quotas has already changed the way of life in Kalk Bay. “Kalk Bay has lost its soul, there’s no doubt about that,” Poggenpoel said. “The village has been changed in a very big way. One can’t be fearful of development, but they are going to swallow up the village over time — there is no maybe about it.”
Cathy Kell, a University of Cape Town academic who lives in Kalk Bay, said the area’s diversity remains a drawcard. But skyrocketing rentals in new developments “could force smaller shops to give way to restaurants and chain stores, thereby killing off the characteristic mingling foot traffic along the elegant colonnade and privatising spaces that are more public”.
“We are on the verge of being the textbook case of how the coolest neighbourhood in the world becomes uncool. Heritage often appears to be about ticking the boxes but it’s a much, much wider issue for the community — it’s historical, it’s economic and it’s political,” she said.
But White, who says he employs nearly 100 people, insists that he is part of the solution, not the problem, having lived in the area for 41 years. “Kalk Bay has become more and more popular. But heritage is very, very important. We are watchful,” he said.