Eris Property Group has announced a R1.5 billion redevelopment of the Cape Town Station, situated on the corners of Strand, Adderley and Old Marine Drive. The revamp is set to include a retail centre and 20-storey student accommodation facility.
The group says it has secured the forecourt of the Cape Town Station on a long-term lease from Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) and says it has “completely reimagined this landmark location into a vibrant new precinct spanning 2.4 hectares”. The first phase of the development will provide 6 700m2 of modern retail space, a 3 085-bed purpose-built student accommodation facility and a new world-class public square.
Henri de Wet, Development Manager at Eris Property Group, explains that there is a dire shortage of purpose-built student accommodation around the Cape Town City Centre, especially quality accommodation which is affordable and NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) accredited.
“The City Bowl and immediate surrounds plays host to more than 30 000 students enrolled at various tertiary education institutions, and this site has the unique advantage of not only being close to all of these institutions but also acting as the major public transport interchange in the City Centre for rail, buses and taxis. This development will be the largest single-phase purpose-built student accommodation facility in Africa and will offer students world-class accommodation at an affordable price,” de Wet says.
The accommodation, which will be located only 1km away from the District 6 Campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), will offer self-catering accommodation in the form of four, three and one-bedroom apartments. Amenities in the building will include fives football, action basketball/netball, a gym, cinema, games rooms, study rooms, TV lounges, collaboration lounges, laundry facilities, computer rooms and urban gardens. The building will form part of Eris’s RISE Student Living brand.
The retail portion of the precinct, named Cape Station, will be anchored by a 1 600m2 Spar and Tops and a 600m2 Clicks, with various other national tenants secured to ensure that the local community will have their every retail need met under one roof.
The development will also include a new “world-class” public square to serve as a landscaped urban garden with artwork and seating to encourage tourist engagement and dwell time.
Dacre Hattingh, Development Manager at Eris, comments that “construction of the 28-month development project is set for completion in November 2023, ready for student intake in January 2024.”
Hattingh comments that Eris is incredibly proud to have been entrusted by PRASA with this landmark site in the Cape Town City Centre and that through successful public-private partnerships value can successfully be unlocked for state-owned entities and South Africans alike.
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Picture: Eris Property Group
