Cape Town - The old Madame Zingara and Ivory Room buildings in Loop Street in the CBD are set to be demolished and redeveloped, following a Heritage Western Cape (HWC) decision.
After a lengthy effort by the property owners to have the 17th century buildings revamped, HWC chief executive Mxolisi Dlamuka on Tuesday said a committee had endorsed the Heritage Impact Assessment with several conditions.
These include that the social history of the buildings be incorporated into any new development, that demolition work and the removal of historic artefacts must be monitored by an architect with experience in architectural heritage projects, and an archaeologist must be present to monitor all excavation work during the construction phase.
Detailed drawings also have to be submitted to HWC for endorsement prior to final building plan submission.
These include building plans from the City.
“Development endorsement will follow after the City submits building plans,” Dlamuka said.
Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Marian Nieuwoudt, said the City was waiting for responses to objections before further processing the redevelopment application.
“The City has received objections to the land use application and these have been sent to the applicant for a response. Thus, we are awaiting the applicant’s response before the application is processed further,” Nieuwoudt said.
In an objection, Buiten View Investments, the owners of directly abutting erven, argued that the Madame Zingara building had been neglected, and the “practical probability of technically maintaining the façade walls during the basement excavations and construction process is questioned”.
“The development site forms part of a historic neighbourhood, which is characterised by fine-grained buildings that once formed a unique part of the townscape of the growing village of Cape Town. The remnants of this character have been the foundation of the recent resurgence of businesses and urban life into this part of central Cape Town.
“The site in question forms part of a complex of buildings that unifies as an active whole in a part of the city that has traditionally struggled,” they argued.