The City of Cape Town has announced the qualifying bidder for the Foreshore Freeway Precinct development.
The appointed Bid Evaluation Committee, having now completed the Stage 1 bid evaluation process, announced that the qualifying bidder is Mitchell Du Plessis Projects (Pty) Ltd, trading as Mitchell Du Plessis Associates (MDA).
MDA’s proposal entails, among others, the completion of the unfinished sections of the freeways – these are the connections to and from Helen Suzman Boulevard; and the connections to and from the N1 and N2 freeways.
The development also proposes a combination of approximately 3 200 market-related residential units and a minimum of 450 affordable residential units.
The core development area is City-owned land, and is approximately 6ha in size. It is located under and between the existing Foreshore Freeway viaducts between the northern edge of the central business district (CBD) and the Cape Town Harbour.
The other sites that the qualifying bidder has identified as part of their proposed Foreshore Freeway Precinct development are the Ebenezer road maintenance depot; the MyCiTi Prestwich bus depot; the Gallows Hill traffic centre; and the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) parking garage. All of these properties are owned by the City.
The City said the qualifying bidder’s proposal is ecologically sensitive and addresses the impact of the development on the environment with water, energy, and lighting design solutions. Grey water recycling, rainwater harvesting, and water treatment systems are included, as are measures to mitigate the impact of high winds and noise.
The build costs of the core development are estimated at R8,3 billion (2017 values), which includes the new highway infrastructure. The development is to be largely self-funding.
It is anticipated that the building work could commence in 2020, subject to the successful completion of the Stage 2 process, and all mandatory property disposal, development and other statutory processes, and approvals.
Given the scale of the proposed development, it will take at least a decade to come to fruition.