Bellville Velodrome to get biggest overhaul in more than 20 years

Western Cape cycling and entertainment venue the Bellville Velodrome is getting its largest upgrade in more than  20 years, with a private consortium building a mixed-use development around the iconic site in a deal worth R7bn.

Devmet Property Developments, a consortium consisting of Devmark Property Group and equity investors,  announced details of the project on Tuesday, saying the development will be supported by the growing number of Capetonians who are moving into the more affordable northern suburbs, including Bellville, Parow and Durbanville.

The Velodrome has hosted many music concerts over the years, including Lenny Kravitz, Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Gabriel, Sting and Youssou N'Dour.  

The site will be called The Galleria, an 11.4ha mixed-use property development in Tyger Valley, Bellville. It will include the Velodrome, which will get an overhaul so that it can compete with other entertainment venues in Cape Town, including the Cape Town Stadium.

The site is located in the “second CBD” of Cape Town, which is being developed in the city’s northern suburbs, and is adjacent to the N1, Carl Cronje Drive and Willie van Schoor Avenue. It will include retail space, an office component, residential space, a hotel, and entertainment and medical offerings. 

The second CBD is known as the Voortrekker Road Corridor Improvement District, which includes certain areas of the suburbs of Bellville and Parow. It lies about 15km to the south of  Durbanville.

The city is promoting the densification of suburbs as more people move to Cape Town to live and work.

Mayor Dan Plato said the city has recognised that it needs to provide more affordable housing as property prices have shot up in recent years and mostly affluent South Africans and foreigners own houses in the city centre while local people rent property. The nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Reclaim The City said at least 60% of Capetonians cannot afford to rent in the city in which they were born.

Devmet CEO Hein Ehlers said that the northern suburbs were attracting businesses and residents and that they would support The Galleria, which he said could compete with Century City and other mixed nodes in the Western Cape. 

“The Galleria presents a very real opportunity for investors and tenants to be part of a modern mixed-use growth node, especially given the City of Cape Town’s stated objectives to  densify and spend on infrastructure," said Ehlers.

He said the development’s strategic location at the centre of Cape Town’s second CBD means that the site benefits in multiple ways, including from road connections and services, transit routes and fibre networks. 

Devmet is using professionals including architects, town planners and consultants who previously worked on the Cape Town International Conference Centre, Melrose Arch, Century City, the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town Stadium and Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, for the planning, design and delivery of the development.

Residential apartments in the Galleria look set to start at R600,000 each, but details of the pricing range will be released in the coming months, Ehlers said.

andersona@businesslive.co.za