CAPE TOWN - The Cape Town mayoral committee has proposed the sale of roughly a hectare of land in Woodstock to developers at a tenth of the market price to build low-cost housing, Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said on Tuesday.
The two parcels of land, situated in Pine Road and Dillon Road, will be sold to a social housing development company for R4.3 million, subject to approval by the city council, Booi said in a statement.
"Approximately 240 social housing opportunities are foreseen to be developed on the total site," he added.
The two parcels of land are among five sites near central Cape Town for which the city had issued requests for proposals while Patricia de Lille was mayor, but subsequently withdrew these to bring the process in line with local government legislation.
The move met with heavy criticism from social housing activists but Booi said the city remained deeply committed to enabling low-cost housing projects close to job opportunities.
In terms of the city's criteria, social housing means rental units made available to people who earn between R1,501 and R15,000 a month.
The city does not run the housing project, instead is managed by a social housing institution.
The council last month approved the rezoning of a large piece of land at Salt River station for a housing development that will include 216 social housing apartments.