The City of Cape Town’s Economic Growth Directorate is preparing to auction a lease opportunity for bulk development rights on the Foreshore Tower site.
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This is an important property with excellent accessibility and a prime location next to the Cape Town International Convention Centre, in the Cape Town Foreshore Precinct of the Central Business Area, with spectacular views of Table Bay Harbour.
This transaction will generate revenue from the lease, which, if successfully auctioned, will create jobs and boost Cape Town’s economy.
The auction will take place on March 14, 2024, both online and in person. The vacant site is located at the corner of Heerengracht and FW de Klerk Boulevard on Erf 270, which is zoned General Business.
The current zoning permissions for usable bulk rights are conservatively estimated to be around 25 000m2. The winning bidder could look into the remaining bulk rights using a formal planning process.
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A critical component of the City’s Economic Growth Directorate’s contribution is reexamining the City’s business systems through an Ease of Doing Business lens, utilising smart real estate services to extract and maximise the economic and social return from City assets.
The City is committed to fully exploring the opportunity to incorporate the deployment and utilisation of the City of Cape Town’s immovable property asset portfolio as a pillar of our economic recovery.
‘The Foreshore Tower site is strategically located so by releasing the footprint for development, the City will provide a sought-after opportunity for commercial property development, catalysing economic growth, creating employment opportunities and generating revenue for service delivery throughout the city,’ said James Vos, mayoral committee member for economic growth.
‘It is anticipated that the development of this site will attract substantial investment from private property developers, for the construction of the Foreshore Tower and associated amenities.’
‘The highest and best use for the property is considered mixed use typologies based on the demand and the primary uses allowed. This includes primary uses such as a multi-level office, hotel and leisure. Having said that, the City is non-prescriptive of the use as long it is in line with the zoning and development rights and complements the existing operations at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).’
‘Foreseeing a bespoke development, which is highly capital intensive, a 99-year lease will ensure a return on investment for the potential developers. The period also allows the City to generate revenue for Cape Town’s service delivery.’
‘By auctioning this lease opportunity within the mandated competitive process, the City will open the bidding opportunity to attract a wider audience, both locally and internationally, who are eager to consider such a high value investment journey with the City.’
‘Investment in the development of this property will bolster the City’s economy with massive social-economic spin-offs contributing to the Metro’s GDP, create employment opportunities, and be a productive asset in perpetuity. This bespoke development will complement the CTICC’s offering, further enhancing attractions to international conferences which in all, bolsters the City’s fiscus to provide basic services to our citizens, while helping to reduce unemployment.’
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The planned development of this site was embedded when the City conducted a feasibility study for the development of Erf 270 in tandem with the planning for the CTICC 2 expansion around 2014, where the opportunity for the Foreshore Tower development was identified.
According to the legislation and policies governing the management of public lands, the subject property is not required for municipal basic services. In line with the highest and best use of the property, a development partner is deemed appropriate to realise the development of this nature.
In accordance with the highest and best use of the property, a development partner is deemed appropriate to carry out this development.
‘The release of this opportunity has been timed to take advantage of the post Covid-19 revival in the CBD. The Central City Improvement District reported in their 2022 State of Cape Town Central City report that commercial landlords have successfully slowed down the work-from-home trend and continued to encourage tenants to return to the workplace by creating more tactile and interactive office environments. With the construction sector also regaining its pre-Covid-19 momentum, the 2022 report shows that the total value of property developments in the CBD, conservatively estimated, stood at R3,6 billion,’ said Vos.
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Picture: CoCT / Supplied
