Sea Point Library is part of a 4.5-hectare site approved for mixed-use development with affordable housing. The library will be maintained as part of the development, but may “take different forms,” city documents state. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks.
The City of Cape Town has approved the sale of more than four hectares of prime land across Green Point and Sea Point. The site currently includes the Sea Point Library and Civic Center, which will be retained. Affordable housing is proposed in a mixed-use development. The public is invited to contribute to the development concept.
More than four hectares of prime land straddling the Greenpoint-Seapoint border is to be auctioned by the City of Cape Town for a mixed-use development including affordable housing.
Plans to sell the triangular site between Main Road and Helen Suzman Boulevard, which includes the Sea Point Library on the west end and an electrical substation to the east, were approved by City Council last December. In March, the subcommittee was informed of the upcoming public participation process required to sell the land.
The city says the location is “with excellent access to major destinations along the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Town’s CBD.” It’s close to landmarks such as Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town Stadium, Urban Park and the V&A Waterfront, as well as along the MyCiTi bus route. Land prices here are ranked as “one of the highest in the Southern Hemisphere”.
In addition to the Sea Point Library, the land also includes a civic hall, a nursery, a private playing field and club, a public car park, and an open space that is sometimes used as an informal market.
The library and civic hall were a condition of the City Council’s approval of the sale, so they will be retained in the development plan. But they “may take other forms,” according to city documents submitted to the subcommittee.
The notice to the subcommittee states that an initial public participation process will occur prior to the legally required public participation process. This is to allow the community to contribute ideas for site development included in the development concept. The public will then be given the opportunity to formally comment on the proposed development concept, followed by statutory public participation.
affordable housing
The city plans to sell the land through a “competitive open market bidding process for high-intensity mixed-use development.” This includes affordable housing, which the city says is “subject to a feasibility study.” Affordable housing will be considered “taking into account the micro and macro socio-economic housing affordability needs of the host region”.
During a technical review before a subcommittee where city departments would comment on the proposed sale, Human Settlements Clerk Kelly Arendse said the site had previously been considered for an affordable housing development. “The (Real Estate Development) Department has indicated that this site will be technically studied with consideration for the inclusion of affordable housing,” Arendse said, adding that the department supports the inclusion of affordable housing that meets the needs of the neighborhood and the city as a whole. Human Settlements was also to be included in the project management team and “other relevant forums.”
Dilshad Modak of the Department of Spatial Planning and Environment further supported affordable housing, citing the site’s “very strategic location”. Mr Modak also suggested that the Department of Community Services and Health should consider the inclusion of social services on the site and that proposals should demonstrate the site’s “extraordinary public benefit” potential.
He added that the library, its heritage and mature trees should be preserved.
“We are proud to begin the land release process for yet another well-located property to foster economic growth and inclusive development that includes well-located and affordable housing,” Mayor Jordyn Hill-Lewis said in a statement supporting the property sale in November. Hill Lewis estimated the market value of the site at R680 million.
criticism
Independent urban policy researcher Nick Budlender said using public land to build affordable housing in well-located areas was one of the simplest and most powerful ways to address Cape Town’s housing and racism crisis.
But he said it would be “disappointing to see yet another piece of public land with such transformative potential lost to the private market.”
He said he is concerned that the city is “paying lip service to affordable housing as a way to push through development that is unlikely to include truly affordable housing.”
GOOD Party MP Axoril Notiwala also opposed the land sale. At the December City Council meeting, Notiwala said GOOD proposed a moratorium on the sale of all public land in the city until the affordable housing policy is completed. He said such policies expected this year would ensure affordable housing development by the private sector.
However, Development Action Group (DAG) researcher Querida Saar cautiously welcomed the proposed land sale, especially if it is used to increase affordable housing options in the city.
“Cape Town’s housing needs are extensive, with more than 360,000 people on the city’s housing waiting list. It is therefore paramount that this public resource is optimally and maximally utilized to meet the critical need for affordable housing close to jobs, amenities and transport links,” Mr Searle said.
He said it was “important” for the city to ensure the use of public land was in line with public needs, given the high demand for affordable housing.
However, it was “essential” to question the number of housing opportunities that cater to Gap housing targets rather than commercial opportunities. It is also important to see how much choice is available to the lowest households (those with monthly incomes of R3,501 to R6,000).
National Association of Social Housing Organizations general manager Carabello Phu said mixed-use developments incorporating affordable housing were a common practice internationally.
Mr Phu said the city would need to specify the number of affordable housing units that would form part of the development and apply deed restrictions to ensure units were not lost to speculators.
If you would like to participate in proposing development concepts and receive the latest information, please register on the dedicated website https://www.infinity.capetown/3anchorbay.
The first public call is scheduled for May, and the design workshop will be notified and accessible only to those who have registered their interest.
A statutory public participation process is scheduled for October.
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