Cape Town - First there was No 1 and No 2, and now the V&A Waterfront has confirmed that the final phase and next four Silo precinct developments, worth an estimated R1.5 billion, will be ready in early 2017, pumping more than R2.5bn total investment into the area.
According to an economic impact study, the nominal contribution to the gross domestic product from this and future Waterfront developments will be R28bn by 2023.
The first two Silo developments have already scooped top property and sustainability awards and the four new Silo developments will add 35 000m2 of space to the precinct and will include corporate offices, a residential component, a health club and an internationally branded hotel.
It will also give visitors an additional 1 050 parking bays.
About 2 500 people are expected to work in this expanded Silo district on completion.
“Development at the V&A is market-led, in response to a demand we have seen for bespoke commercial offices and urban residential with harbour and mountain views. The intention is to create a vibrant and mixed-use sustainable district with sustainability credentials that will offer business opportunities, accommodation, lifestyle options and eateries,” said V&A Waterfront chief executive David Green.
He said the Waterfront reported a 20.6 percent increase in retail sales last year, which marked 29 consecutive months of consistent growth since 2011.
About 30 percent or 180 000m2 of the Waterfront is available for development, making the Silo district a key short-term development focus.
Since the six Silo developments will attract significantly more traffic to the area, Green said enabling work was under way to widen the South Arm Road.
But visitors were also encouraged to use the MyCiTi bus service, and the Silo bus stop is already in use.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in the historic Grain Silo will be the heart of the Silo district, surrounded by a central pedestrian plaza.
In keeping with No 1 and No 2 Silo’s green accreditation and innovation, the new developments will be on top of a super basement that houses the sea water cooling plant for the whole district.
No 1 Silo, currently the headquarters for Allan Gray, is the only South African building to get a six-star “as built” rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa in recognition of its “world leadership” in sustainable development.
No 2 Silo, which has a four-star Green Rating, is also ranked as the best residential development in the country by the South African Property Owners’ Association.
Silo No 3 will follow the same environmentally sustainable trend with its luxury flats.
Silo No 4 will offer a cutting-edge 4 000m2 Virgin Active Health Club while the fifth Silo development will be used for mixed-use office space.
Green said the final development in the precinct would be a middle-of-the-range hotel.
The operator of the hotel, as well as the architect responsible for the design of this Silo No 6 development, would be confirmed in the next few months.
It will be the Waterfront’s 11th hotel offering and the first new hotel since Sol Kerzner’s One&Only opened in 2009.
It was reported this year that high-level international groups such as Accor, Marriott, Hilton and Starwood, were hoping to expand into the SA market, and possibly this part of the Waterfront. - Cape Argus