The V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town, will invest R380-million in the construction of a new Radisson Red hotel, in its Silo District.

Developed and funded by the V&A Waterfront, the 235-room hotel, which would open by end-2016, would also mark the first of its kind in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

“A concept as fresh, exciting and innovative as Radisson Red will perfectly complement the existing hotel offering at the V&A Waterfront. I have no doubt that the proposed innovations of the concept will be incredibly well received by business and leisure travellers alike and make their hotel experience unlike any other,” V&A Waterfront CEO David Green said in a statement.

Nestled between the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa and the office and housing developments that comprised the Silo District, the Radisson Red would be “tech and design savvy”, relevant and pragmatic, and focus on creating an experience that is truly guest-centric.

Developed in partnership with international hotel group Carlson Rezidor, Radisson Red was a new upscale lifestyle select brand in the group’s portfolio, and was “perfectly suited” to Cape Town’s most visited destination – the V&A Waterfront.

“With more than 24-million visitors a year, we believe the V&A Waterfront is an attractive prospect for this new hotel,” Rezidor CEO Wolfgang Neumann said.

V&A Waterfront development executive Martin Kearns said the hotel would add to the mixed-use appeal of the Silo District, while offering convenient and accessible accommodation to not only the international business traveller, but locals alike.

The V&A was currently home to six five-star hotels, two four-star hotels and two three-star hotels. The Radisson Red would be the first new build since the One & Only in 2009. The newest of the Waterfront hotels is the Queen Victoria, the result of the refurbishment of an existing building in 2011.

The Radisson Red would straddle the three- and four-star segments.

While Cape Town was going into a period of intensive supply development, the number of rooms that would enter the market would still be marginally less than the supply that entered between 2007 and 2010, when almost all supply was positioned in the five-star category.