SA Affordable Housing January / February 2018 // Issue: 68 | Page 31

PROJECTS
Belhar Gardens,
affordably efficient
A Cape Town social housing development is the first affordable housing
project in South Africa to be recognised for its water and energy saving design.
By The City of Cape Town | All images courtesy City of Cape Town
This social housing project located in Cape Town is recognised by the GBCSA for saving water.
B
elhar Gardens development was recently recognised
by the Green Building Council of South Africa
(GBCSA) as a project that shows Excellence in Design
for Greater Efficiencies (Edge).
The City of Cape Town sees this is a significant
achievement, saying that this will assist Cape Town’s water
saving efforts while at the same time it makes the rental
units more affordable for tenants.
The development, situated on the corner of Carmen End
and Symphony Way, was completed in August 2017 and
boasts 630 social housing units, comprising of bachelor,
one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. It is currently
managed by the Madulammoho Housing Association, one
of the social housing companies that has partnered with
the City of Cape Town.
“Belhar Gardens recently achieved an Excellence in
Design for Greater Efficiencies (Edge) preliminary grading
from the GBCSA; final certification will be issued in early
2018. The significance of this certification cannot be
overstated. Cape Town is facing one of the worst droughts
in recorded history. The long-term sustainability of our city
depends on our ability to plan, use innovative technologies
and foster an acute awareness of how we use scarce
resources. It is imperative that all of us who are involved in
urban development, be it the private or public sector, focus
on methods and innovative designs to save water and
electricity, and to limit the impact on our environment,”
says the City’s Mayoral Committee member for Transport
and Urban Development, Councillor Brett Herron.
He also wants to commend Madulammoho for this
achievement and for setting the benchmark in social
housing developments. “We are proud to have them as a
social housing partner. They have proved to the industry
that one can go green when building affordable housing
units, and that energy and water efficiency is not the sole
preserve of upper-income developments.”
LIVING IN BELHAR GARDENS
The tenants, the majority of whom are from the Belhar area
or work close to the development, have already moved in.
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018
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