An overview of Cape Town's Foreshore Freeway Project
Category Commercial Property News
Earlier this year, the City of Cape Town announced the winner of its bidding process to change the face of the City’s commercial Foreshore node – home to its infamous incomplete freeway. The Foreshore Freeway Bridge, perhaps better known as Cape Town's “unfinished bridge”, is an incomplete section of what was intended to be the Eastern Boulevard Highway. Conceptualised and designed in the late 1960s, work began in the early 1970s. The freeway was built to alleviate future traffic congestion in the city, but the project never came to fruition. No clear explanation was given at the time, and as a result, several urban legends have surfaced over the years. One is that the design team had made a calculation error resulting in the two ends failing to link up. It was later revealed that the project was in fact halted due to budget constraints.
This famous freeway has remained in this unfinished state ever since construction ended in 1977 and has become an icon of the Cape Town Foreshore commercial node. The Foreshore is a very well-located area within Cape Town, which contains approximately six hectares of developable land located under and between this incomplete freeway. The development of this area has been a subject of debate for many years and in 2016 the City of Cape Town finally released its Request for Proposals for the Development of the Cape Town Foreshore Freeway Precinct.
In February 2017, the City received seven proposals from the private sector, six of which made it through an initial screening and were unveiled to the public. The bidders’ 3D models and video proposals were exhibited at the Civic Centre for a period of approximately two weeks in March last year. It was an anonymous process and the public was invited to comment on the six proposals and express their preference – their comments were to be taken into account by the City.
The winning bid was announced in February of this year – it was ‘Proposal F’, by Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (MDA). The MDA proposal puts emphasis on affordable housing, which is tough to come by in Cape Town, where property prices have skyrocketed in recent years. The MDA proposal also covers the completion of unfinished sections of freeway (the connections to and from Helen Suzman Boulevard and the connections to and from the N1 and N2 freeways), the development of approximately 3 200 market-related residential units and a minimum of 450 affordable residential units.
According to the City of Cape Town, the MDA’s proposal is said to ecologically sensitive and addresses the impact of the development on the environment with water, energy, and lighting design solutions. Grey water recycling, rainwater harvesting, and water treatment systems are included, as are measures to mitigate the impact of high winds and noise. The building costs of the core development are estimated at R8.3 billion, which includes the new highway infrastructure. The development is to be largely self-funded and it’s anticipated that building work could commence in 2020, subject to the successful completion of the Stage 2 approval process. Given the scale of the proposed development, it will take at least a decade until it’s fully completed.
While the qualifying proposal has not been without criticism, from both experts and the general public, it is undoubtedly set to skyrocket the value of commercial properties in the area – which means now is the ideal time to invest in the Cape Town Foreshore. If you are considering investing in or moving your business to this highly sought-after commercial node, OfficeSpace Commercial Property Specialists will be able to assist you with your unique requirements. Simply get in touch with one of our brokers today for expert advice and the latest available listings.
Author: Officeplace Johannesburg