Affordable accomodation partnerships
Cape Town ’ s development opportunity
BY CAROLA KOBLITZ
A
s property prices rise in and around the traditional CBD of the Mother City , the City of Cape Town has turned its sights towards addressing the legacies of apartheid and bringing people ’ s homes closer to their places of work . A frontline of developers is urging the private sector to look towards the opportunities and embrace the challenges .
Speaking earlier this year at the 4th Annual Affordable Housing Conference in Cape Town , the mayoral committee member for transport and urban development , Brett Herron , noted : “ We must acknowledge that , to date , our efforts to radically transform Cape Town ’ s spatial reality to enable all our residents to participate more equally in the local economy have fallen short .”
Announcing that the City would be developing 10 “ inner-city ” sites in the city centre and the inner-city suburbs of Woodstock and Salt River , Herron added : “ The manner in which we are approaching these developments represents a 180-degree change in how we will confront the urgent demand for affordable and inclusionary housing in the future . Providing affordable housing opportunities closer to where people work or close to public transport is non-negotiable .”
Strategic partnerships
Herron also noted that five of the 10 sites would be released to the private sector , which would become partners with the City . These would be in addition to the groundbreaking new
The only way our downtown can begin to supply homes at a more reasonable rate is if we see one of two things happening : incentives for developers to consider inclusionary models or – as the City is now doing – developing public / private partnerships .
Foreshore Freeway Precinct project announced by the City late last year , which could see up to 4 000 affordable units released to the market . The bulk of this six-hectare project lies in and around the Foreshore freeway , which separates the CBD from the harbour .
“ Cape Town ’ s CBD accounts for over 30 % of the city ’ s workforce , which in turn contributes towards creating 25 % of our city ’ s economy ,” says Tasso Evangelinos , CEO of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District ( CCID ). “ However ,
38 OCTOBER 2017 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine