[Image: Wikicommons]
The City of Cape Town has approved the sale of prime land across Green Point and Sea Point, said to be valued “among the highest in the southern hemisphere”.
Earmarked for mixed-use development including affordable housing, the City plans to sell the triangular site between Main Road and Helen Suzman Boulevard, which includes the Sea Point library on the western edge and an electrical substation on the east.
According to the City, the site “is remarkably well connected to key destinations along the Atlantic Seaboard as well as to Cape Town’s CBD.” It is close to landmarks such as the Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town Stadium, Urban Park, and V&A Waterfront, and it is along a MyCiTi bus route.
In addition to the Sea Point library, the area also hosts the civic hall, a crèche, private sports grounds and clubs, public parking, and vacant land occasionally used for informal markets.
A public participation process will allow the local community to share ideas for the site’s development, which will be incorporated into the development concept. Following this, the public will have the opportunity to submit formal comments on the proposed idea.
Human Settlements official Kelly Arendse stated the site had previously been investigated for affordable housing development.
“It was indicated by (the property development) department that this site will be technically investigated with the consideration of affordable housing inclusion.”
Dilshard Modak from the Spatial Planning and Environment Department further supported affordable housing due to the “highly strategic location” of the site.
Modak also suggested the Community Services and Health Department should consider social services being included on the site, and the proposal should show the site’s potential for “extraordinary public benefit”. He added that the library and its heritage qualities, as well as the mature trees, should be retained.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis have also voiced his support for the development, saying, “We are proud to kick-start the land release process for yet another well-located property to drive economic growth and inclusive development, including well-located affordable housing.”
Critics have welcomed the use of public land to build affordable housing in well-located areas as a way of addressing Cape Town’s housing and segregation crisis but have raised concerns that “another piece of public land with such transformative potential being lost to the private market.”
GroundUp quotes Independent urban policy researcher Nick Budlender as saying that he was concerned the City was “paying lip service to affordable housing as a way of forcing through a development that is unlikely to include any genuinely affordable homes”.
The first round of public input is slated for May, and design workshops will only be communicated and accessible to those who have registered their interest. If you wish to participate in the development concept proposal and stay informed, you can register on the dedicated website https://www.infinity.capetown/3anchorbay
[Source: Groundup]
