Cape Town - The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) recently officially launched its ninth edition of the State of Cape Town Central City Report for the year 2020.
Despite the heavy onslaught of the pandemic and devastating effects of the lockdown regulations, the CCID announced the CBD had managed to remain stable and resilient.
In the report, the CCID said while some businesses buckled under economic pressure, many more had remained opened with new developments in the pipeline for the next coming years, to the tune of R6.9 billion.
CCID board chairperson Rob Kane said: “Data in the ninth edition of the annual report shows steady confidence in the development potential of the CBD. The CBD proved its resilience in a very tough year, and while some businesses closed, many others survived the first Covid-19 year which is very encouraging.”
“The key findings of the special Covid edition of the annual State of Cape Town Central City Report showed that our economy in the CBD managed to remain stable in 2020 despite the raging pandemic, with the official nominal value of all property set at R43.8 billion by the City and at least 31 new developments worth more than R6.9 billion in the pipeline,” said Kane.
In the 72-page report made requisite to investors, developers, business owners and retailers, of the 31 new developments, five estimated to be worth R972 million have were completed in 2020, while 15 valued at R2.9 billion began construction also in 2020. Nine estimated to be worth R2 billion were in the planning phase and two valued at R860 million were proposed.
“These key developments include Abland’s P-grade skyscraper 35 on Lower Long, Ryan Joffe Properties’s The Rockefeller at Harbour Place, and the WBHO’s Hotel Sky.
“We also noted that despite Covid-19 crushing our tourism sector and the knock-on effect on the Central City’s visitor and eventing economies, most of the hotels in the CBD pulled out all the stops in 2020 to get domestic guests through their doors.
“Two hotels were among the developments in 2020, namely the R400 million Hotel Sky development and the Old Bank Hotel, while two apartment hotels, WINK Foreshore and the Urban Oasis in the East City, were completed in 2020,” said Kane.
The State of Cape Town Central City report also looked into how the most significant indicator of investor confidence in the Central City grew in property value, shifting from R30.6 billion in 2016/2017 to over R43.8 billion in 2019/2019 financial year.
“The increase in gross valuation for the Cape Town CBD remains heartening and speaks to continued investor confidence and development potential. The commercial property market remains resilient in 2021, with the continued conversion of office buildings into mixed-use developments or residential developments. This indicates flexibility in the sector,” said Kane.