CAPE TOWN – The future of the Good Hope Centre is now under the spotlight as the City of Cape Town begins an intensive vetting process to determine whether a qualifying bid meets strict legal, financial and heritage requirements.
This comes after City announced on Friday 27 February that the iconic building together with many other municipal properties had been successfully actioned.
The public action was held on Thursday 26 February and The SPIRIT Revelation Ecclesia, also known as New World Faith Ministries church, based in Maitland has since claimed purchase of the facility.
In a statement released on Monday 02 March, the City explained that it has not yet accepted any bids for any of the auctioned sites, nor has the validity of the bids been confirmed.
ALSO READ: Church claims purchase of Good Hope Centre after R135m City auction
It said a detailed vetting and due diligence must first be conducted in the coming weeks in line with standard post-auction business practice.
The City said as a first step, a detailed post-auction audit will be conducted to establish the qualification status of the bidders from a tax, ownership, risk and financial compliance point of view, as well as whether Municipal Asset Transfer Regulation requirements are met.
Photo: Supplied
This includes whether the price achieved meets the valuation of the various sites.
“Regarding the Good Hope Centre in particular, should it be established that a qualifying bid has been received, this will be vetted in detail to ensure that the bidder complies fully with the requirements of the Offer to Purchase and the Development Facilitation Agreement,” read the statement.
The City added that it will further establish the details of the bidder’s development proposal, to assess whether this meets all Heritage requirements and sale terms relating to the redevelopment of the site and provision of broader community access.
Overall, bids for the various sites that are successfully vetted will in due time be presented to the Immovable Property Adjudication Committee (IPAC), followed by City Council for final approval, where applicable.
The relevant department will provide recommendations to these approval bodies that may arise from the due diligence process.
Any final sale agreement with successful bidders will incorporate the outcomes of this due diligence process and has to be approved by Council.
According to the City revenue generated from the sale or lease of these properties is reinvested directly into service delivery across Cape Town.
ALSO READ: Church claims purchase of Good Hope Centre after R135m City auction
You must be logged in to post a comment.