Cape Times May 13 2003

TONI WEAVER

CAPE TOWN - central business district (CBD) is on the brink of its biggest inner-city development yet, with large chunks of two historic blocks to be redeveloped into a luxury hotel and residential, commercial and retail space.

An Irish investor has bought the seven properties, which include the "grand old lady of Wale Street" - the former Board of Executors (BoE) headquarters - in a deal that was clinched on Friday but only made public yesterday.

The precint extends from the corner of Adderley and Wale streets, up Wale Street and into Burg and Church streets and St George's Mall. Its redevelopment is set to dramatically transform the city's night life. It is projected that the development will inject more than R 350 million into the city's economy, creating an estimated 2000 construction jobs and 4000 indirect jobs, the Cape Town Partnership (CTP) has said.

The Irish company, Howard Holdings plc, has offices in London, Dublin and Cork and has more than R 3.5 billion in developments under way in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Howard's chairman Frank Gormley said in a statement: "I have visited Cape Town many times and have been very impressed by what has been a remarkable turnaround in the CBD. We have had a great deal of experience and success in investing in property developments in CBDs of cities that have blossomed as a result of urban renewal, and we are absolutely committed to this project.

"Dublin's project, the Temple Bar district, has achieved spectacular success in urban renewal, and Cape Town is showing every sign that it will be one of the world's finest."

The seven properties formed the historic heart of Cape Town's financial district, but fell vacant or became under-used when the owner, Nedcor, moved to new headquarters on the Foreshore. Others became vacant when BoE - which was later taken over by Nedcor - moved to new premises at the Clock Tower, V&A Waterfront.

Nedcor was unwilling yesterday to disclose the sale price of the buildings, but commercial property sources said they would have fetched "between R45m and R50m".

The seven are:

• The Cape of Good Hope Bank building at 117 St George's Mall.
•  The BoE building at 2 to 10 Wale Street.
•  The old Reserve Bank building at 12 to 18 Wale Street.
•  The Nedbank Syfrets Private Banking building at 140 St George's Mall.
•  The Nedcor Investment Banking building at 148 St George's Mall.
•  The old Cape Times building that later became the Syfrets building at 77 Burg Street and which now houses, among others, the Peoples' Family Law Centre, and
  Numbers 21 to 23 Church Street, once home to the legendary Caf? Royal, the drinking hole of politicians, lawyers and journalists, and home to the Cape Town Press Club until it was gutted by a fire in the mid-1980s.
•  The BoE, old Reserve Bank and Cape of Good Hope Bank buildings adjoin each other and, according to the Irish investor, are to be remodelled to surpass any local hotel, in effect becoming a luxury six-star hotel. 

Almost the whole block bounded by Wale, Burg and Church streets and St George's Mall is to be turned into more than 200 residential apartments with parking bays, while the used for retail outlets.

The only two buildings in the block that are not part of the sale are the historic Rhodes Building, on the corner of Wale and St George's Mall, and the equally historic Heritage House on the corner of Burg and Church streets. The CTP said in its statement that it had played a "key role in the introduction of this investment to Cape Town. "(It) has spent eight months assisting Howard Holdings with information on investment opportunities, tax incentives, the property market and the potential for leisure and retail investment in the Cape Town CBD."

The partnership's chief executive officer, Michael Farr, said that since the CTP was founded in mid-1999, there had been investment worth more than R5bn in the CBD, 88% of which was domestic fixed investment.

"This deal is the best possible news for our central city and proves substantively that our urban renewal efforts have not only been successful, but are gaining in momentum." Howard Holdings' Cormley announced that a new company, Eurocape Investments, had been established with offices in Cape Town and Dublin, with Cormac Magennity as its chief executive officer.

Gormley added that "Eurocape has plans to build up a substantial portfolio in the Cape Town region and has been active in the market-place". Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo said in a statement last night: "As a city we welcome the initiative. This type of economic development, in line with the city's strategic vision for creating investment opportunities, will result in empowering opportunities, and thereby impact and improve the quality of life of all our residents."