Development of the soon-to-be tallest building in Cape Town, which will cost in the region of R1,5bn, has now been scheduled to begin in April 2017. Although the development will take 30 months to complete, over 60% has already been sold out.
Emerging market property developer Land Equity Group, headed by Stuart Chait, recently purchased Old Mutual Centre and Exchange Place in Cape Town’s bustling CBD from Old Mutual Properties. The site, situated on the corner of Adderley and Strand streets, across the road from Cape Town Central Station, is designated to be redeveloped into the 44 000m2 tower, which, at 44 stories, will be Cape Town’s tallest building. The building is still to be named, however its current code name is ‘Zero-2-One Tower’.
The development, situated at arguably one of the most iconic and strategic sites in the city, will comprise 624 apartments, 760 parking bays, retail space of 5000m2 and a 360-degree viewing deck and restaurant at roof level which will be open to the public. Land Equity Group has appointed FWJK to co-develop the project.
Comments Chait, “This building is set to transform the Cape Town city skyline, and once complete it will mean that Cape Town finally features in the ‘top 10 tallest buildings in South Africa’. It will in fact be the same height as the Reserve Bank building in Pretoria.’’
‘’The CBD is highly sought-after by investors and tenants. Statistics continue to show that both buyers and tenants are prepared to sacrifice bigger homes or apartments in outlying suburbs, in exchange for the convenient and urban lifestyle that the city has to offer. There are already at least a dozen new high-rise buildings in development in the CBD, with many more on the drawing board for 2017. Buyers and investors are able to get the tax benefit of the UDZ allowance which makes their investment highly attractive, and with the massive ongoing capital investment taking place, the Cape Town CBD will now be on a par with some of the best cities in the world. Prior to Old Mutual developing the FNB building only a short time ago, no skyscrapers had been built in the city for nearly 40 years.
Land Equity has secured another two strategic blocks in the Cape Town CBD and plans to develop further mixed-use projects in the bustling node. In total, the company is planning over R4 billion in new developments in the area this year alone.
Chait has been recently responsible for various major developments across South Africa, including Melrose Arch, Tyger Falls in Tyger Valley, Big Bay in Bloubergstrand, Nettleton Ridge in Clifton, Victoria Junction adjacent to the V& A Waterfront (Cape Town’s first scalable regeneration mixed-use development), Stonehurst Mountain Estate, and many other mixed-use projects in South Africa.
“We are now going into an aggressive development cycle, having raised significant funding for a R40bn pipeline of development projects across sub-Saharan Africa, and including South Africa,” adds Chait.
