Cape Town land sale sparks housing row
Developers of a planned skyscraper in Cape Town and city authorities don’t see eye to eye with activists who say the site was sold too cheaply, and who want housing rather than more office space
Controversy around the R86.5m sale of municipal land in Cape Town’s Foreshore district has thrown issues of affordable and inclusive housing in the Mother City into sharp relief. In 2016 "Site B" was sold on public auction to Growthpoint Properties, which plans to develop a mixed-use building that includes more than 24 floors of office space, an internationally branded hotel on the roof and two floors of retail space at its base. "We are in the planning approval process to develop a building that will be worth R2.2bn and create 1,000 jobs in its construction phase," says Tim Irvine, Growthpoint’s Cape Town asset manager. "It will also lead to the creation of long-term jobs with the hotel. It will serve the people of Cape Town and contribute R16m a year in rates." But not everyone is behind the development. Members of lobby group Reclaim the City, the Social Justice Coalition and the UniteBehind coalition protested at the site last week, arguing that the authorities should not have s...
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