Zero-2-One Tower – the working name for the development – will take 30 months to complete, according to Stuart Chait, head of the Land Equity Group, the developer of the new CBD landmark.
Land Equity recently acquired the Old Mutual Centre and Exchange Place in the Cape Town CBD from Old Mutual Properties. The site on the corner of Adderley and Strand streets, across the road from Cape Town Central Station, is designated to be redeveloped into a 44 storey tower with 44 000m² of space.
“When complete, this tower will be the same height as the Reserve Bank building in Pretoria and will be Cape Town’s tallest building,” says Chait.
The development will have 624 apartments, 760 parking bays, 5 000m² of retail space and a 360-degree viewing deck and restaurant at roof level which will be open to the public. Chait says 60 percent of the space has already been sold.
Land Equity Group has appointed FWJK to co-develop the project.
Chait says the Cape Town CBD is sought-after by investors and tenants.
“There are already at least a dozen new high-rise buildings in development in the CBD, with many more on the drawing board for 2017. Buyers and investors are able to get the tax benefit of the UDZ (urban development zone) allowance which makes their investment highly attractive, and with the massive ongoing capital investment taking place, the Cape Town CBD will now be on a par with some of the best cities in the world,” says Chait.
He says Land Equity has secured another two strategic blocks in the Cape Town CBD and plans to develop further mixed-use projects in the bustling node. In total, the company is planning over R4bn in new developments in the area this year alone.
Chait has recently been involved in various major developments across South Africa, including Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, Tyger Falls in Tyger Valley, Big Bay in Bloubergstrand, Nettleton Ridge in Clifton, Victoria Junction adjacent to the V& A Waterfront and Stonehurst Mountain Estate in Tokai.
“We are now going into an aggressive development cycle, having raised significant funding for a R40bn pipeline of development projects across sub-Saharan Africa, and including South Africa,” says Chait.
