The historic Salt River Market is set for a major transformation after the City of Cape Town handed the site to developer Communicare, clearing the way for 970 “affordable” housing units as part of a wider inner-city housing drive.

The revered site was officially handed over to the City on Monday 8 June.

Communicare has been in discussion with the City, which owned the land, over developing the site since 2014.

The land sale agreement was signed by Communicare four years ago, but official handover was delayed due to various factors including residents living in an informal settlement next to the site.

The development includes 300 social housing rental units and 670 affordable market units.

However, some stakeholders, including housing lobby group Ndifuna Ukwazi, are not convinced about the pace or priorities of the project.

Housing Backlog

Yusrah Bardien, communications and engagements officer at Ndifuna Ukwazi, says progress on affordable housing has been “unacceptably slow”.

“This site is one of 11 City-owned sites in the city centre, Salt River and Woodstock announced by the City in a 2017 prospectus for affordable housing. Besides the transitional housing in Pickwick Road, not a single brick has been laid on any of these sites in the nine years since.

Bardien says the City must account for these delays.

“One of the sites in the 2017 prospectus was the Upper Canterbury Road site, which was sold off in the City’s controversial auction in February this year,” Bardien adds.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the Salt River Market development forms part of the City’s broader strategy to unlock underutilised public land for affordable housing, with more than 12 000 housing opportunities planned across well-located areas of the metro.

Carl Pophaim, Mayco member for human settlements, says once completed, the development will provide affordable rental options to households earning up to approximately R34 400 per month.

He says it will also deliver rentals ranging from approximately R700 to R10 000 per month.

According to Communicare chair Mark van Wyk, the development will feature retail space, a public piazza, a daycare centre and a sports field.

Van Wyk says the development will add 300 social housing apartments across seven storey building and 670 affordable housing units in a nine-storey building.

He adds that the historic Salt River Hall will be restored and preserved, while plans also make provision for the market’s four long-standing fresh produce traders to continue operating on the site.

Heritage Concerns

Anwar Omar, founding member of the Salt River Heritage Society, says while they support the affordable housing concept, they also have some concerns.

“We need to see that the affordable housing that will be provided will benefit the Salt River community directly. We are not saying other communities shouldn’t benefit from it,” explains Omar.

He says the society nominated the site, which houses the Salt River Hall, as a provincial heritage site based on its “intangible” cultural heritage.

“They need to determine the heritage significance of a site and then the development needs to respond to that significance and not the other way around.”

Crystal West, programme manager at Development Action Group (DAG), notes that the organisation’s role throughout this process has centred on supporting a just relocation for residents whose lives, livelihoods, and social networks were rooted in the area.

The non-profit organisation (NPO) works to advance spatial justice and inclusive development by empowering communities and stakeholders to improve access to safe, affordable housing. It has also been supporting residents who lived in an informal settlement next to the site.

Responding to the handover of the site, West says: “This has been a long and, at times, complex process, marked by both frustrations and important progress. All residents were ultimately relocated voluntarily.

“This outcome reflects what is possible when stakeholders remain committed to working through challenges collaboratively, rather than circumventing them.”

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