Finance institution Absa Bank has partnered with urban precincts developer Amdec Group to develop the first tower of the multibillion-rand Harbour Arch project, on the Foreshore, in Cape Town.
A long-time partner to Amdec, Absa has provided a loan of R1.43-billion in addition to an existing facility of R210-million to bring the project into fruition.
This is one of the largest deals the Absa Commercial Property Finance division has done in recent years.
The construction of Harbour Arch Tower One – which includes parking, street level retail, an eight-floor lifestyle podium lined with coffee shops, pavement cafes and restaurants and 432 luxury apartments – is already under way and is expected to be completed in April 2023.
“The entire Harbour Arch development represents a private equity investment of R15-billion into the City of Cape Town, with a further investment in public infrastructure upgrades and a pipeline of municipal rates and utility revenues in perpetuity.
“Moreover, the project will create in the region of 20 000 job opportunities for those in the building sector now and, over the longer term, many more employment opportunities via the precincts retail, hotel and hospitality sectors,” says Amdec Group CEO James Wilson.
The development of Tower One follows the success of the Amdec’s Melrose Arch mixed-use precinct in Johannesburg.
Amdec has partnered with Absa on a number of the group’s other projects, including The Yacht Club, in Cape Town; Westbrook, in Port Elizabeth; the recently completed Melrose Square at Melrose Arch; and several Evergreen Lifestyle villages.