With full renovations wrapped up at the end of 2015, Touchstone House provides 15 floors of prime office space located on Bree Street just opposite the Portside, the CBD’s flagship tower. Stylishly fusing old and modern, the building offers high-up views over the city and has a range of sectional titles for letting or sale, from 79m2 office suites to entire floors. Eight parking levels are available, for a high-end ratio of 3 bays per 100m2 of office space; while ground level retail adds a dynamic atmosphere to the House.
Photograph from travelscor.com
Touchstone House is situated right by the public road network and within walking distance of public transport stations. Close to cosmopolitan and vibrant De Waterkant, the building falls within the Urban Development Zone (UDZ) which allows tax benefits for owner-occupiers and investors alike.
This new office block is located on Christiaan Barnard Street in the CBD’s Culemborg legal and financial services district. Being adjacent to the N1 and N2 highways and thus easily accessible, KPMG Place consists of eleven office levels, ten above-ground parking levels and three below ground, for a ratio of three bays per 100m2 of office space.
The client-engaging ground level features retail space and a showroom, while the top floor comprises an entertainment area, cafeteria, and 360-degree views of the fair Cape. Accounting multinational and anchor firm KPMG is set to occupy 7000 of the 19000m2 of A+ grade office space next year, with a managing partner at the firm explaining that the ‘green’ measures incorporated into the building design had been a deciding factor in KPMG’s relocation to the tower block. With electricity and water savings offered by light motion sensors, heat-resistance glazing, and the elimination of geysers throughout the building, KPMG Place has one of the lowest per square metre water and electricity consumption rates in Cape Town.
The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has noted that the new office building is part of a revamp of the Foreshore area. Of the more than R7bn being invested in the CBD between 2014 and 2017, more than R5bn has been allotted solely for the Foreshore (covering amongst others the new Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital and CTICC expansion). This activity points to extensive infrastructure upgrades and commercial property opportunities in the area in the near future, and great deals with existing upgrades to landmark office space such as the Standard Bank Towers.
