Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2015 | Page 52

INVESTING

The Revival of Cape Town CBD

Attractive Foreshore investment opportunities for blue chip tenants
By Drew Hook

R

eaffirming the strategic relevance and increasing
appeal of Cape Town’s rapidly transforming
Foreshore area, which is undergoing
considerable revitalisation, two major corporates have
recently concluded lease agreements through Ikon
Property Group for prime office space in the area.
Pearson Southern Africa, which is part of a leading
global education business, has relocated its headquarters
from Pinelands to occupy a single floor of 3 180sqm
in the refurbished AAA grade Media City building.
Taking a 10 year lease at a competitive monthly rental
of R105 per square metre, they have moved premises to
be in a more central location in a pleasing environment
conducive to staff access and productivity.
The Foreshore precinct has been earmarked as the
next major growth node in the Cape Town CBD as
it has convenient accessibility to public transport –
both MyCiti bus service and Cape Town train station,
and being on the periphery of the CBD it has almost
immediate access to the N1 and N2 freeways.
The Chairperson of the Cape Town Central City
Improvement District (CCID), Rob Kane, notes that
a massive re-urbanisation of the Foreshore area has

begun. “As the CCID, we define this area as stretching
from Riebeek Street and Old Marine Drive down
to Table Bay and Nelson Mandela boulevards, and
bordered on either side by Buitengracht and Christiaan
Barnard Street.
“This is going to completely revitalise the Foreshore,
and because of the former, we believe we may see
the creation in particular of additional space that
can accommodate the healthcare industry – medical
practitioners and medically related suppliers – as we
know that the demand for rooms in the new hospital
is already very high. This is also one of the few areas
in the CBD where greenfields developments can still
take place.”
In relocating their offices to Media City, Pearson
Southern Africa required a high specification fit-out.
The new headquarters for Pearson SA was designed
to accommodate 335 people in a contemporary new
working environment that met international office
design standards. The move also signified a cultural
shift from cellular offices to an open plan layout, so the
new office has plenty of informal areas to collaborate
along with’ hot desks’ for staff on the move. Efficient