A R3.8 billion retail and business park property development will change the landscape of Bottelary Road on the 30 hectare land between Haasendal Gables and Soneike shopping centre.
A sod-turning event was held on the site on Monday to mark commencement of ground works.
Named River Quarter, the development in Kuils River, bordering Brackenfell is a 50/50 partnership between VDMV Property Holdings and Good Find Properties a subsidiary of Communicare.
The development involves the installation of bulk services – water, sewage, and electricity – followed by the erection of a series of buildings on the land to be completed in the next five to 10 years, according to VDMV director Xander Rau.
Business and residential
The first phase of the development will see a destination retail and business node followed later by a residential development of 1 600 housing units.
According to VDMV director Gary Luyt, the retail park will comprise a diverse mix of spaces for large, medium and small businesses.
Large anchor tenants such as Food Lover’s Market and Builder’s Warehouse is set to move in by early 2025.
At the event, James Vos, Mayco member for economic opportunity in the City said the Cape Town economy is alive with new development in the fastest growing node of the city.
“We have seen a lot in the news in the last year or so about something going on in Cape Town that is not happening so much elsewhere in the country; opportunities are being seized, businesses are growing and jobs are being made. Government can not be a land bank. We must flip the script on how we see land to extract economic growth and opportunity from it.”
Job creation
Vos said 4 500 new jobs will be generated from this development calling it a fantastic milestone for the economy.
“The City government recognises the importance of supporting the development of local business that is critical to economic growth and job creation.”
Thabo Mashologu of Communicare expressed his excitement saying that with the project they were taking up the challenge to create integrated settlements where people can live near their places of work. “With a large population growth expected in Cape Town we face the challenge of creating sustainable human settlements.”
Izak van der Merwe, founder of VDMV said as developers the are not driven by just making more money.
“We are driven to look at good transactions we believe we can make work.”
