Cape Town’s CBD infrastructure investments adds R7bn to property values
Cape Town’s central business district is headed for major transformation that is expected to add R7-billion to the total value of property once major construction projects are completed by 2020.
The Central City Improvement District says that is a conservative estimate for the increase in value of CBD property once projects such as the Cape Town International Convention Centre expansion and the new Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital are completed.
The CCID is a private-public partnership that provides complementary urban management services in parts of the inner city.
Research released on Tuesday by property research firm Lightstone shows the Western Cape has had the highest number of super-luxury property sales in 2005-15. Gauteng was second, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
Super-luxury properties exceed R10m in value. Lightstone says that across South Africa these properties are bought predominantly by those in the 45-54 age group, followed by those aged 35-44.
At the CCID’s annual meeting on Monday it said the city’s official property valuations had risen from just over R6-billion in 2006 to close to R24-billion this year.
Chief operating officer Tasso Evangelinos said that in 2011 the collective rand value of all residential sales in the CBD wasR115-million. This jumped toR296-million last year, despite fewer new residential developments being recorded over the period.
“We have also seen public infra-structure investment add enormous value to the CBD, from the introduction of MyCiTi and the work being done to our roads and pedestrian thoroughfares, to the upgrading of the Cape Town Station and the rollout of broadband.”
The new Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital is expected to open next year with 250 beds, state-of-the-art theatres, doctors’ surgeries and consulting rooms, retail, a gym and a parkade.
The convention centre expansion is on track to be completed in early 2017, at a cost of about R832-million.
Other developments include two new Tsogo Sunhotels on the old Tulip Hotel site (R680-million) and the Sentinel, a R200-million residential development on the corner of Loop and Leeuwen streets.
This article was first published by BDlive.