Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has issued a R100 million, 25-year tender to lease an erf adjacent to the Cape Town Stadium in attempts to commercialise the precinct.
The 7 385 square metre gravelled plot on Granger Bay Boulevard is currently used for overflow parking, but the city says its strategic location to the retail hub of Green Point, with good access to public transport, makes it suitable for retail and commercial development.
“It is envisaged that a medium-rise complex of buildings incorporating parking, ground-floor retail and commercial components will be developed on the site,” said the tender document issued on Friday.
Tenderers have the option of offering a R100m upfront payment excluding VAT or a monthly rental of R750 000 also excluding VAT.
In the case of a monthly rental payment, the rental will be subject to an annual 8 percent increase.
The city would also generate income from rates and taxes charged on the property. The lessee will also have to make a development contribution of R14m to cover the cost of municipal engineering services required as a result of the intensification of land use. The successful applicant will be responsible for all maintenance and improvement costs of the property.
The erf was zoned to General Business Use 5 last year to allow for the development of a range of retail, commercial and residential premises, including business premises, apartments, hotel, entertainment centre, conference facilities and parking space.
The previous council gave the go-ahead to issue a tender at its last meeting before the end of their term in May.
Interested parties have until January 13 to submit their tenders.
The city has been desperate to generate more income to maintain the R4.5 billion stadium since the 2010 World Cup, with losses exceeding R40m a year.
Jenny McQueen, the chairwoman of the Green Point Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association, said on Sunday that the association was still against the development of the property and didn’t believe it would be commercially viable for any developer.
“Our feelings haven’t changed. We still believe it’s the rape of the common and that all the past public comment has been ignored.
“The city goes through the public participation, ticks the boxes and then they go and do what they want,” she said.
The association said it would make an offer of R1 and return the property to the common for public use.
According to the tender document, about 27 events are hosted at the stadium each year.
On average, around six events a year attract crowds of between 20 000 and 40 000, while an average of eight events hosted more.
The city’s spatial planning and urban design department has issued design guidelines for prospective developers to ensure the buildings fit in with existing buildings in the stadium precinct.
These guidelines aim to ensure that the ground floor of the proposed development is an active space to generate pedestrian activity around the site and that the development acts as a connecting link to adjacent pedestrian routes to the V&A Waterfront and the Somerset Hospital.
The buildings can not exceed 25m in height, with a maximum floor area 29 540 square metres.
“The precinct is located in an area of high recreational and tourist value supported by various natural, structural and aesthetic enabling factors. It is therefore desirous that the Granger Bay Boulevard development integrates seamlessly with the Cape Town Stadium and complements the overall vision and ethos of the precinct in terms of landscaping, hygiene, security and other related operating aspects,” says the tender document.
The lessee will not be permitted to cede, transfer or assign the lease without the city’s consent. Developers will have to take into account the security measures and road closures that are put in place on stadium event days when attendees exceed 20 000.
The lessee could be required to conduct noise impact and traffic impact assessments.
Cape Argus