Claremont civic precinct revamp 'should be applauded'
The multimillion-rand redevelopment of the civic heart of Claremont is a great example of a successful public-private sector partnership and the developers should be applauded for breathing new life into the area, said ward councillor Ian Iversen.
He was speaking at a celebration to mark the success of the new private sector-funded Claremont civic precinct and public library at The Quadrant.
The project has taken more than five years to complete and started with a public participation process nearly a decade ago. At that time, the process was considered one of the most detailed and informative call proposal initiatives ever drafted by the City of Cape Town.
The project was driven by a pro-active group of officials keen to upgrade the Claremont civic precinct. The public participation process culminated in rezoning of the property in 1999, and, recognising the need for private funding, a tender for its development was issued by the city.
The development rights were awarded in October 2000 to the Claremont Library Development Company, a consortium comprising local developers Corevest, Commlife Properties and BL Williams Construction.
At the recent celebration of the project, the team recalled the complexities of converting the call proposal conditions into efficient and enforceable legal agreements.
The development included the sale of a portion of land, a 40-year lease of the Library Square property, a sub-lease over the new Claremont library, and a development agreement covering the scope, timing, quality and empowerment objectives. Everyone agreed the project's ground-breaking logistics were underestimated by the city and the development partnership.
Agreements were finally signed about four years later and construction started five years after winning the tender. Now, after another four years, the commercial precinct is complete and the second phase of 150 residential apartments will be complete early next year.
The project encompasses the 2 hectares of land between Main Road, Kingsbury Clinic and the railway line, and represents a R400 million investment in a mixed-use development comprising public squares, a state-of-the-art library, 5 000m2 of commercial accommodation and 250 apartments.
Gary Moore of Corevest said it had always been intended that the project would go beyond the profit-only development motive.
"The consortium behind The Quadrant precinct has been able to view the project from a public facility as well as an empowerment and public-private joint venture perspective. This has resulted in a wonderfully landscaped and leafy new node for easy living - close to work, shops, transport and sporting facilities.
"We are delighted to see the library as well as the offices, medical facilities, parking, restaurants and gym are benefiting all Claremont's residents in this revitalisation of a previously neglected area."
The apartments had found favour with medical practitioners, many of whom practised in the area, and UCT students and staff, because they were close to the university and top private and public schools.
"We have also noticed many ex-South Africans - especially those living in London - love this precinct because of its proximity to shops and the Newlands rugby and cricket grounds. We are fielding about 30 offshore inquiries a month. In fact, 14 percent of the investors in The Quadrant are expatriates investing from abroad."
The library is directly behind the Claremont Civic Centre Hall in a low energy-using, naturally ventilated, modern, glassed building which leads on to a public square that will be used for art exhibitions and other activities.
In the final phase, the railway electrical substation would be demolished and rebuilt in a deal with SARCC/Metrorail, said Moore.
Weekend Property supplement (Saturday Argus)
Posted at 10:24AM Dec 07, 2009 by Editor in Residential |