Residential Guidebook Residential Guide 2017/2018 | Page 9

CAPE TOWN’S URBAN TRANSITION HEADS NORTH As far as opportunity goes, none has more relevance and potential than Bell- ville and the much spoken of Voortrek- ker Road Corridor (VRC). At the heart of the 19km stretch of economic activity, comprising some 8000 hectares, is the capital of the North – Bellville. With the heritage value stretching back to the 1650’s, Bellville was at its Heyday in the 1970’s. At the time, the area was the retail and commercial epi- centre of the Northern Suburbs, home to some of the country’s Mega-corpo- rates. The steady movement of develop- ment capital away from the area over the last 20 years, towards the newer Tyger- valley and Century City, has meant that the area is having to evolve and regen- erate. This is leading towards a second economic boom. Now recognised as the obvious locale for new and refurbished development, Bellville is starting to attract more and more attention from smart investors. Having a flourishing student com- munity, bustling retail and commuter traffic, significant tertiary institutions, and large corporates, Bellville (and Parow) are on the move. The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP), a NPO established five years ago in partnership with the City of Cape Town (CoCT), is well positioned to play a key role in the facilitation of this tran- sition. Recently appointed CEO, War- ren Hewitt believes the landscape is now fertile for investment, particularly for those prepared to be the urban trailblaz- ers and leverage the higher yields avail- able to those with vision. “The area ticks all the boxes for a thriving economic and residential hub. It has 360o accessibility via major routes (rail, road and air), high levels of employment opportunities, available land and low bulk utilisation combined with a transport interchange which could soon challenge the busiest in the Western Cape.” As an integrated partnership, the GTP plays a facilitation role between the private sector (both corporate and individual) and the channels of state management - the public sector. Hewitt goes on to add: “at the GTP we can play a role for the private inves- tor in accessing and accelerating inter- actions with the City whilst also mobil- ising the CoCT’s approved investment strategies”. The CoCT has identified Bellville as one of the 5 catalytic proj- ects for the future development of the Metropole, placing a huge emphasis and many resources behind these plans. If you would like more information on the area or would like to engage on specifics please contact the GTP at 021 823 6713 or email [email protected] THE ULTIMATE PROPERTY INVESTMENT RESIDENTIAL GUIDEBOOK 9