ONE of the last vacant commercial sites in Century City – a prime, expansive 2.5-hectare N1fronted lot ideal for a corporate headquarters development – is among 60 City of Cape Town-owned land parcels going under the hammer on 30 June.
Joff van Reenen, Director and Lead Auctioneer of High Street Auctions, says every lot released for the City of Cape Town’s 2021 inaugural virtual land auction comprises vacant erfs located across the city from Atlantis to Brackenfell, Mitchell’s Plain to Macassar.
“The virtual auction commencing at noon sharp on Wednesday, 30 June 2021, is the first in a series of land sales High Street Auctions will be conducting on behalf of the City of Cape Town in the months to come, and buyer interest is already far exceeding expectations.
“Registrations for the sale are flooding in for properties across the spectrum. All bidder registrations are currently from within South Africa, with the bulk originating in Cape Town.”
Van Reenen says from a commercial perspective, most buyers are focused on Century City, the development sites released in Cape Town’s northern suburbs and the various industrial sites in the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), predicted by Wesgro to attract investment exceeding R3.5 billion over the next two decades.
“The City is releasing nine industrial land parcels in Atlantis, where developers are being incentivised at all levels of government to invest in infrastructure growth and job creation in a region that has already been earmarked as an epicentre of green tech activity.
“These development sites vary in size to suit business ventures big and small, and being within an SEZ means processes to facilitate establishing new ventures within the area are already streamlined.”
Van Reenen says the commercial lot drawing the most national interest from corporates, though, is one of the last and largest office development sites within the Century City lifestyle precinct.
“The 2.5ha site could not be in a better location fronting the N1 on Century Boulevard, and given the world’s ‘new normal’ there is no better place in Cape Town for a corporate to be considering new office space.
“The precinct offers the ultimate in live, work, shop and play for families of those who work in the numerous national and international companies headquartered within Century City.
“There are thousands of families already in residence, one of the largest shopping centres in the southern hemisphere on site, preschools, a primary school and a high school, a nature reserve, sports facilities and entertainment galore – all within secure walking distance of the office.
“High Street Auctions is expecting a bidding war on the Century City lot, because we won’t see another site like this come onto the market again.”
Van Reenen says South Africans keen to live in Cape Town should also be looking at the residential sites being auctioned by the City.
“We will be selling plots all over Cape Town, from Strand right across to Brackenfell. Buying land allows you to build your dream house rather than moving into a design that was someone else’s dream, and purchasing land on auction is the fairest and most transparent method of measuring the market on the day. You are guaranteed a fair price.”
Van Reenen says the auction will be conducted virtually, with bids being accepted via telephone, Zoom and the High Street app, which is free to download from Google Play and the App Store.
“The auction will be live-streamed from noon on the 30th on www.highstreetauctions.com and all our staff will be on hand to help buyers place their bids and ensure that all bids are registered with me on the podium.
“All the properties for sale can also be viewed online now at www.highstreetauctions.com and each property has a designated sales associate whose cellphone number is listed with the property to assist members of the public with any questions they may have regarding FICA registration, property details or even the auction process itself.
“We have no doubt June 30th this is going to be only the first of many successful City of Cape Town land sales going forward.”
