Cape Town’s Skyline – and its Economy – Keep Rising to New Heights
The Cape Town skyline, with its glistening high rise buildings, greets visitors to the city with an impressive message of success and progress – and there’s no telling how many more buildings will grace the CBD and Century City in the coming years.
The Mother City’s ever-expanding skyline paints a beautiful picture of economic growth and prosperity in what has become South Africa’s best governed business metro, but what does the future hold for the commercial property sector?
Let’s take a look at the social factors behind Cape Town’s expansion as we make some predictions about how the city will evolve in years to come.
What’s driving the transformation of Cape Town’s skyline?
The remarkable transformation of Cape Town’s urban landscape – from the total rejuvenation of the CBD and Foreshore area to the growth of a completely new business district in Century City points to just one thing: sustained economic growth.
A few decades ago Cape Town was considered primarily a tourist destination and a scenic location for the film industry. Today, the city is rivalling Johannesburg as a major creator of wealth and value and a huge contributor to South Africa’s economy. Recent data shows that the city generates 9.9% of the total national GDP.
- With growth and strong investor confidence comes the ability to finance and market premium commercial properties, and that phenomenon has been playing out remarkably well in Cape Town over the past 15 years.
- The proliferation of buildings throughout the city can be seen as the result of something bigger, which is a well governed metro with a pro-business agenda, excellent service delivery, and good relations with the private sector.
These features make the Mother City stand out when compared to other metros, even larger ones like Johannesburg which fares worse on liveability and service delivery despite the size of Gauteng’s economy.
If Cape Town is fast becoming the foremost business metro in the country, the next question on property investors’ minds will be: what’s the next big development that will transform the city’s landscape even further?
Here are some exciting developments set to take place in the city in the near future.
V&A Waterfront set for expansion and redevelopment
The Waterfront attracts thousands of visitors a day and is hugely popular among foreign tourists as well as locals who enjoy some of Cape Town’s premier retail, dining, and commercial properties in the prestigious development.
Since its inception in 1988, the waterfront has become a landmark of Cape Town lifestyle. Developers are now planning a reinvestment to totally rejuvenate the development for the 21st century.
- Several new buildings, focused in the Granger Bay area, will form part of the redevelopment plan which is due to commence in 2025.
- The R20 billion project, which is due to break ground next year and will take up to 15 years to complete in total, is expected to see the Granger Bay area undergo significant development.
- Mixed use projects will be dominating the agenda, with the City of Cape Town having confirmed receipt of an application for 440,000m2 in additional development rights pertaining to the project.
The result will be a premium work, stay, and play environment in close proximity to both the prestigious V&A and the thriving CBD area. Business owners seeking to relocate from other provinces or abroad are likely to be prime candidates for these new projects.
The enviable luxurious coastal lifestyle which can be enjoyed by residents of the waterfront district will be even more accessible with a variety of residential and commercial offerings expected to be developed.
The southern suburbs expand with fresh interest from new businesses
Cape Town’s rapid commercial property expansion and changing skyline is not limited to the waterfront area and CBD. The rapid growth of small businesses – especially those operating in the silicon Cape tech sector – is spurring huge demand for new office buildings in the southern suburbs.
Areas like Woodstock and Salt River have shed their old industrial reputations to emerge as trendy, creative business districts popular with tech companies, software developers, and cutting-edge creative agencies.
This sought after property in Atlantic Hills is a perfect example of Woodstock’s contemporary office space offering. The competitive asking price of R80/square meter makes this property a steal at current and future rates.
Paarden Island is the latest light industrial area to find itself transformed into an innovative business hub.
Commercial property valuations in the area have been rising consistently over the past decade, as new and exciting businesses take advantage of the competitive rentals in the area.
Modern office developments like this attractive unit offer exceptional value at under R150/square metre.
The overall effect of this development has been to create a new “silicon silk Road” between the CBD and Century City.
The southern suburbs are starting to offer premium quality commercial units with a relaxed feeling that appeals to the modern industries they host. Investing in commercial property could be a great strategic move for businesses in search of new premises.
Cape Town’s expansion has created the perfect opportunity to invest
Cape Town has proven that its track record of good governance and promotion of business activities is resulting in sustained and impressive growth both in the economy as a whole and specifically in the commercial property sector.
With the positive economic outlook and consistent investment in the commercial property industry, now could be the perfect time for savvy investors to own a piece of South Africa’s biggest urban success story.
As new developments enclose Cape Town’s skyline meeting the increasing demand for commercial premises, investors can rest easy in the knowledge that tenants are eager and ready to move in. In addition, the city’s modern commercial properties offer an excellent chance of capital appreciation in the long term.
If you’d like to be part of the next chapter of Cape Town’s success story, either as a property, investor or commercial tenant the commercial space Team would love to hear from you. Contact us today, and let us know how we can help you the ideal commercial property to suit your needs.
