Name of the Project
Foreshore Freeway Precinct.

Location
The project is located under and between the existing Foreshore Freeway viaducts between the northern edge of the central business district (CBD) and Cape Town harbour, in the Western Cape, South Africa.

The core development area is about 6 ha of city-owned land.

Client
City of Cape Town Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA).

Project Description
Mitchell Du Plessis Projects, trading as Mitchell du Plessis Associates (MDA), has been announced as the qualifying bidder in the first stage of the request for proposals (RFPs) for the development of the precinct. The project will transform an underused precinct on the northern edge of the Cape Town CBD.

MDA has proposed the completion of the unfinished connections to and from Helen Suzman Boulevard; the connections to and from the N1 and the N2 freeways; and the financing or cross-subsidising of the new roads and affordable residential units through the development of upmarket and midmarket residential units.

It is proposed that the market-related residential units be located in 11 new tower blocks, 63 m high, 123 m high, and 143 m high, with views of the mountain, the sea and the harbour.

The towers will extend across four proposed precincts within the Foreshore area on the strip of land between the new freeways as follows:

• the Cape Town International Concention Centre parking garage;

• the area between the existing freeways and Heerengracht and DF Malan streets;

• the area between the existing freeways and DF Malan and Jan Smuts streets; and

• the area between the existing freeways and Jan Smuts and Christiaan Barnard streets.

According to the proposal, the different heights and location of the towers will ensure that the iconic views of Table Mountain and the sea from the harbour and public spaces are retained. The tower blocks will rest on podiums, which will also partially support the new freeway viaducts, or fly-overs.

The viaducts will be higher than the existing freeways. This will provide enough space, natural light and airflow for the development in the podiums. The proposed podiums beneath the highways will accommodate the bulk of the affordable residential units, parking bays, convenience and speciality shops, retail space and community facilities.

Part of the proposal is also to build another ten residential buildings on the northern edge closest to the harbour under or between the existing east-bound freeways between DF Malan and Christiaan Barnard streets.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Value
The build costs of the core development are estimated at R8.3-billion (2017 rand values), which includes the new highway infrastructure. The development is to be largely self-funding.

Duration
Construction is expected to start in 2020, subject to the successful completion of the Stage 2 process and all mandatory property disposal, development and other statutory processes, as well as approvals. Given the scale of the proposed development, it will take at least a decade to come to fruition.

Latest Developments
The conclusion of the Stage 1 process does not confirm MDA as the successful bidder in this process. In the next step of the RFP process, negotiations to conclude an agreement between MDA and the city will start as soon as the expiry period provided for bidders to lodge any disputes, objections, complaints and queries in terms of Regulations 49 and 50 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations has lapsed.

The agreement will stipulate the conditions and requirements to be followed by MDA during the second stage. During this time, MDA will have to finalise an investment plan and secure the financing for the project, determine the phasing and dependencies, and refine their technical parameters, among others. The final award to MDA will be subject to the successful conclusion of the Stage 2 process.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
City of Cape Town TDA, tel +27 800 65 64 63