Century City, situated close to the Cape Town CBD, is developing into a serious competitor to the traditional business node at the foot of Table Mountain.
The formerly abandoned wetland area has been developed, against all expectations, into a sought-after work, residential and leisure address over the last six years. It now boasts a capital value of R15,5bn, compared to R2bn in 2004.
Today 40,000 people live and work in Century City and record prices are being achieved for its units. This has happened in a market where sales are generally struggling after the recession stymied new developments.
John Chapman, a director for the Rabie Group, the owners of Century City since 2004, says the development is starting to deliver dividends.
“We’ve gone through the growth phase and reached the critical mass necessary for it to fully function as a mixed-use development.”
Investors who have invested in residential property in the development over the last three years, have ample reason to smile. Allen Usher, sales director of Property World, says while residential units sold for between R15k and R17k per sqm three years ago, they are now selling at R25k/sqm.
He believes it offers better value than the Cape Town CBD. “Investors get an all-encompassing lifestyle at Centruy City.”
The lifestyle components include 220,000sqm of prime office space housing a variety of businesses, 3,500 residential properties, five hotels for all kinds of budgets and Hyprop’s super-regional shopping centre, Canal Walk. More than 21 million shoppers visit this centre annually.
Usher says Century City’s latest residential offering, Crystal Towers Residences – comprising a part of the new five-star Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa – is selling superbly.
Of the 91 units with prices between R1,65m and R10,3m, 44 have been snapped up since the development’s launch last year. Two luxury roof apartments have been sold to local investors for R8,2m each, which is a record price for Century City. The previous record was a luxury roof apartment in the Knights Bridge development that fetched R5,2m.
Usher says the investor market is responsible for 25% of the sales and it is expected that a two-bedroom unit will achieve a rental amount of R7k per month. The monthly charges range between R1,152 and R4,766 for the super luxurious roof apartments of R10,3m.
The Crystal Towers hotel and residential units will be housing a big American delegation from Coca Cola during the upcoming Soccer World Cup.
Apart from the residential units there are houses available in the Waterstone Isles development. Prices in this development range between R2,64m for 168sqm with a monthly charge of R720 and R4,735m for 331sqm and a charge of R720.
Chapman says the group is opting for baby steps as far as new developments are concerned.
A 39-unit boutique development called Little Moorings was recently launched. It was designed as an energy-efficient development to lower the cost of living.
It includes a gas stove option and an energy-saving water-heating system. Prices start at R960k and range up to R1,95m. – Elma Kloppers, Sake24
Readers' Comments
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Being a wetland, it should have remained abandoned.
Not that this small protestation will at all be heard in the clamour of greed, but voicing it makes me feel better. – Francois
I live in Summer Greens, this is a very interesting article. – Leslene Jones
I'm glad I own properties in Century City! – Patrick Murphy
