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In
this issue: Research
guides R104 million Cavendish Connect project | From
the Executive Manager’s Desk |
New security and
cleansing service
provider appointed
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Urban upgrade
promotes retail growth | An eye for design – Profile
of Peter de Tolly | Claremont
Civic
precinct revamp | Historic Landmark
Transformed
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Perspective of Cavendish Connect, the new name for the refurbished
The Link.
This R104-million project by Old Mutual Property Group to further
boost Claremont’s status as the dominant retail destination
in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, is now well under way. This
will create a bigger and better retail environment and offering,
involving refurbishing the existing retail and mall areas in The
Link shopping centre to the standards of adjacent Cavendish Square,
another Old Mutual property. It also involves the proposed construction
of two pedestrian bridges at first floor level to connect the two
centres. The Link, which is bounded by Main Road, Vineyard Road
and Dreyer Street, will be renamed Cavendish Connect.
Belinda Clur, head of research at Old Mutual Property Group, says
that the group’s nodal research on Claremont, which considers
demographic and development trends within various catchment zones
of the Cavendish site, as well as trends over two years shown by
Cavendish Precinct shopper surveys, strongly supports the project.
Clur says: “Significant growth in household income, residential
units and high and sustainable house price growth all characterise
the immediate area around Cavendish Square and Cavendish Connect.
In fact, household income growth in this node is mostly outperforming
that of competitor nodes. This, along with current and future urban
renewal which is taking place in the Claremont CBD, and the supporting
statistics from our Cavendish Precinct shopper surveys, all indicate
that this node is a hot-spot, and that there is a strong need for
additional top-notch retail facilities. Further research shows
that areas surrounding and beyond Claremont would also derive substantial
value from this development, which has obvious benefits for the
tenants involved. The development is further supported by Cape
Town’s ever-growing international image, as well as the implications
of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.”
According to Clur, 1 200 Cavendish Precinct shoppers have been
surveyed over the past two years. One of the core outputs of this
survey is a customer satisfaction index (CSI). Old Mutual Property
Group tracks changes in its CSI over time, and the trend shows
that Cavendish Square shoppers are happy with their shopping experience
(CSI at over 80% and growing), whereas The Link’s CSI is
lower and trending downward.
Shoppers surveyed at The Link said they would welcome additional
retail offerings, including fresh fashion, sophisticated décor
and furniture stores, as well as new and exciting restaurant concepts.
There were specific calls for small exclusive fashion and menswear
boutiques, upmarket home décor and furniture stores, coffee
shops and among the restaurants, a fish offering.
Leasing is well under way for Cavendish Connect and announcements
on new tenants will be made in due course. Spring 2007 is being
targeted as the opening date for the project, which will also be
a catalyst for further improvement of the Claremont node.
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Dear Colleagues,
Since last writing to you, the Festive Season has come and
gone and we are already into the second month of 2007! How
time flies! From all accounts our retailers enjoyed excellent
turnovers in December and from a crime perspective, Claremont
Central enjoyed a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Orbis black caps arrive on the streets of Claremont
To provide an even better security and cleaning service to
you all, the CIDC have called upon Orbis Security Solutions,
who on 1st February took over our security patrols and
cleansing operations. We are now delighted to be working
with this dynamic company, whose security and cleaning
staff in their smart black and beige uniforms are patrolling
and keeping the streets of Claremont Central clean and
safe. Please look out for them on our streets in their
very visible bibs. Of particular interest, Orbis’ Managing
Director is Mark Sangster, formerly the Chief Traffic Officer
of Cape Town and the founder of the City Police. He is
probably one of the most experienced experts in street
policing in our City and someone who will add enormous
value to our fight against crime and lawlessness in Claremont.
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Anthony Davies,
Executive Manager of the CIDC |
The Claremont Central website and directory
Congratulations to Lydia van der Merwe, the editor of The Claremont Clarion and
our Communications Consultant, on producing our new high quality website and
printed directory. To see for yourself, please visit this excellent website
at
www.claremontcentral.co.za and if you haven’t received a copy of the new
Claremont Central Directory 2007, full of interesting information and useful
contacts, please phone my PA, Karen Bailey on (021) 674 0639 and she will ensure
that you receive a copy of the publication.
The Claremont Main Road and Four Squares project
The CIDC, together with the City of Cape Town, will shortly be
holding an exhibition of plans both in Stadium on Main and at
Cavendish Square to inform as many members of the public as possible
of what is proposed to make major improvements along our Main
Road and in providing public open space, which is so seriously
lacking in Claremont. Full details of the dates will be circulated
shortly. Please make time to come and see these exciting developments
for yourself. Claremont Central is certainly set to change remarkably
in this year of 2007. “Please watch this space!”
Claremont Boulevard and new Transport Interchange
I am glad to report that the new Taxi Interchange at the station
should be fully commissioned by the end of April. This will then
be followed by the commencement of construction of the Bus Interchange
behind Shoprite and at the same time construction of the roadworks
will begin. The first phase of the Boulevard roadworks to Hawthorne
Road at Stadium on Main is expected to be completed by the end
of June, with phase two through to the Main Road at the Newlands
Swimming Baths in operation before the end of the year.
Very sincerely yours for making Claremont a better place for all.
Anthony Davies
Executive Manager of CIDC |
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The mission of the Claremont Improvement District Company
is to support the existing and future environment through
programmes to ensure that the public space is safe, clean,
attractive, exciting, entertaining and user-friendly, ensuring
that various bodies and authorities meet their responsibilities,
assisting wherever possible and thereby protecting and enhancing
the existing asset base and attracting new investment, tenants
and customers.
For any cleansing and security
emergencies or complaints,
please phone 0800-200-597 toll free or e-mail: davies@cidc.co.za |
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On the 1st February
2007, Orbis Security Solutions was appointed as the new security
and cleansing service provider to the Claremont Improvement
District Company. Although a relatively young company, they
boast an impressive management team, which collectively has
more than 80 years experience in the fields of security and
law enforcement. Mr Charl Brooks also joined Orbis at the
beginning of the year and has been reappointed as the operations
manager for the CIDC contract. This move will ensure continuity
in operations.
The company is headed up by Mr Mark Sangster, who previously
held the position of Chief of the Cape Town City Police.
Many exciting initiatives have been planned including the
formation of a CIDC-driven operational forum, which will
deal with the numerous law enforcement and cleansing issues
that arise on a daily basis. In the April issue of The Claremont
Clarion we will elaborate on these initiatives, aimed at
enhancing the level and standard of law enforcement within
the Claremont Central area.
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Left to right, Achmat Abrahams (Security
Supervisor), Mark Sangster
(Managing Director) and Thandi Isaacs (Cleansing Supervisor) |
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Artist’s impression of proposed
Dreyer Street improvement
The proposed upgrading
of Dreyer Street will contribute to the Four Squares concept
in which the four major urban spaces in the business district
are linked via pedestrian friendly landscaped connections. Ben
Kodisang, managing director of the Old Mutual Property Group,
says the group hopes the investment will lend further momentum
to the growth of Claremont. “As
the largest individual investor in Claremont, Old Mutual has a
keen interest in the impact of the public-private sector initiatives
under way in the precinct. “Already these initiatives and
the efforts of the Claremont Improvement District Company have
seen a reduction in office vacancies and an accompanying rise in
rentals.”
Amelia Beattie, regional general manager of
Old Mutual Property Group, expects Cavendish Connect, Cavendish
Square and other retail facilities to benefit from the surge
in residential property development. “Indications
are that another 2 000 people are coming to live in Claremont,” she
says. ”Three developments alone are adding another 450 apartments.
Overall, this influx is likely to add more than R70-million to
annual retail spending in the precinct. Current buoyant levels
of consumer spending are reflected in sales and visitor growth
at Cavendish Square.
Beattie says the aim in creating Cavendish
Connect is a bigger and better retail environment and offering. “The introduction
of an activity spine in Dreyer Street via the location of café-style
shops on the ground and possibly first floor of Cavendish Connect
is key to reshaping the offering in the centre.” The work
at Cavendish Connect covers two phases, says Beattie. “The
first phase covers internal reorganisation to accommodate new tenants.
The second involves the proposed construction of the pedestrian
walkways and upgrading of Dreyer Street. “
The conversions at The Link, which was developed
in 1977 and bought by Old Mutual in 2003 for R66-million, will
be the first renovations there since 1993. Adjacent Cavendish
Square, which was first opened in 1973, has undergone several
expansions, the latest in 2003. The Link has a rentable area
of 12 963m², including 456m² offices,
over three storeys, the major retail tenant being Edgars.
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“The public
life of trading, gathering and socialising must be facilitated
and celebrated”. This is the view of Peter de Tolly,
urban design and planning consultant to the CIDC. His goal
is to see Claremont Central transformed from a series of
internalised shopping complexes and a public streetscape
that is largely unmemorable, into a place where streets and
squares are for people, rather than motorcars. “Main
Road must be transformed into a place for public life, primarily
for pedestrians, where people can come face to face with
each other, exchange news and socialise; in other words,
a place to “go to”, rather than “go through”.
He adds that new development should not only address the
need to assist in the creation of lively street frontages,
climate-friendly streets and public spaces, but also in creating
contextually and environmentally appropriate buildings. His
present focus is on the upgrading of the public environment
within Claremont Central, the successful completion of the
Claremont Boulevard and the Taxi and Bus Interchanges, as
well as in negotiating the design of new developments to
secure buildings that are a credit to the area.
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De Tolly is assisted by consultants retained by the
City in the preparation of urban design and landscape proposals
for Claremont Central. He is now working with City officials to
implement these proposals. The first priority is the landscaping
of Claremont Main Road, followed by other streets, introducing
new paving and, wherever underground services permit, trees lining
the streets. While it is early days yet, new paving can already
be seen along Main Road.
The second is to realise the City’s ‘Four
Squares’ concept, creating new squares at Stegmann Road (on
the railway side of The Claremont apartment block) and at Newry
Street, adjacent to the new Bus Interchange. The latter will provide
a market for informal traders, for whom improved facilities are
long overdue. The other two squares are Warwick Square, which needs
to be ‘greened’ and the Sanclare Forecourt, between
Dreyer and Corwen Streets. A third priority is to create a series
of ‘gateways’ that will signal entry to Claremont Central.
De Tolly, who brings to Claremont the experience
and skills he gained in a number of senior management positions
over 24 years in the Cape Town City Council and prior to that the
11 years he worked in Canada and the United States, has been instrumental
in the preparation of design guidelines for new developments in
Claremont. These guidelines, part of which are geared toward preventing ‘dead’ street
frontages, aim to assist architects who are currently only guided
by the quantitative regulations of the City’s Zoning Scheme
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Having
commenced construction in late 2004, the first phase
of the Claremont Civic Precinct, also known as the
Claremont Medical Village, has now been completed.
This R 400-m redevelopment of the entire area between
Main Road, Kingsbury Clinic, the Railway line and Marlborough
Park was initiated by the City of Cape Town’s
Town Planning Department. A public participation process
encompassing all stakeholders commenced in 1997 culminating
in the rezoning of the property, which paved the way
for a “public-private participation project” tender
in March 2000.
Following an exhaustive adjudication
and audit process the development rights were awarded
in October 2000 to the Claremont Library Development
Company (Pty) Ltd, a consortium comprising local
developers Corevest (Pty) Ltd, Commlife Properties
and BL Williams Construction. Although the tender
process was at the time considered to be one of the
most detailed and informative bid documents ever
drafted by the City, the legal process took an inordinate
length of time to finally reach fruition. |
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Claremont Precinct’s
Library Square |
The complexities of converting the call proposal
conditions into efficient and enforceable legal agreements
(covering the sale of a portion of land, a 40- year lease
of the Library Square property, a sub-lease over the new
Claremont Library, as well as a development agreement covering
the scope, timing, quality and key empowerment objectives),
were underestimated by both Council and the developer.
Agreements were finally signed in September
2004 and construction commenced with a major piling and bulk
excavation contract in November 2004. That both parties to
these agreements persevered for that length of time, bears
testimony to the resilience of the City’s planning
and legal teams, as well as the development company who have
throughout remained committed to this important public-private
participation project.
The first phase of the development, Library
Square, situated directly behind the Civic Centre, comprises
a public square, enclosed on the ground floor on two sides
by a retail component and the new Claremont Library, as well
as 3 floors of approximately 4000m2 of office space. Lengthy
negotiations between the developer, traffic, as well as environmental
officials, has led to increased basement parking areas to
free-up “green” public zones. The retention of
as many of the substantial trees on the property has been
a major focus of the design team and will ensure that this
development lives up to its design credo of a suburban environment
in the city. Extensive use of glass on the south façade
of the library building provides a strong interaction between
the library and the public square. This achieves the design
intention to provide a physically and visually integrated
public facility – a pleasant change from the intimidating
public buildings of a bygone era.
The building has been occupied by mainly medical
tenants, together with the Western Cape Regional office of
Pam Golding Properties, which has relocated from Kenilworth.
The medical suites are occupied primarily by practices that
relocated from the Newlands Surgical Clinic in the former
Pick ‘n Pay (now Paramount Towers) building. These
include the Cape Fertility Clinic, Peninsula Eye Clinic and
Pathcare, as well as a full range of healthcare professionals.
This move reinforces the medical nature of this area.
It is anticipated that the Library will move
in during March this year, paving the way for demolition
of the existing library and other peripheral buildings around
the Civic Centre and the redevelopment of parking and public
landscaped areas. It is hoped that the upgrade of the Civic
Centre itself will assist in the relocation of the prostitutes,
criminals and beggars, who utilize the building as a personalized
homeless shelter. Should this area soon be integrated into
the CIDC’s area of jurisdiction, this will also ensure
a permanent security and cleansing presence.
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Set amid tall, graceful
trees against the imposing backdrop of Table Mountain and
on the doorstep of Newlands Cricket Ground, the landmark
Monorgan Mews development on the site of the historic Monorgan
estate, is yet another example of how property within the
Claremont and Newlands area is being rejuvenated. Set within
beautifully landscaped gardens and long considered one of
the finest examples of its gracious bygone era, the original
manor house is being refurbished in grand and appropriate
style.
Behind the stately façade of the existing manor
house, the residential units, the last five of which were
recently released for sale, all have Georgian features. Scheduled
for completion by the middle of next year, the second phase
comprising additional residential units, will be built among
the majestic trees, which grace the property. Jointly marketed
by Upton Properties, Anne Porter and Churchill Murray, the
elegant development with its sensitive layout, does justice
to this historic site in the heart of the southern suburbs.
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Claremont
Improvement District Company
Upper Ground Floor, Stadium on Main
PO Box 24063, Claremont 7735
Tel: (021) 674-0639 Fax: (021) 674 1533
Executive Manager: A H V Davies E-mail: davies@cidc.co.za
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This newsletter
has been compiled and produced on behalf of the CIDC by
The Executive Connection (021) 671 4297 / 082 2241 222 E-mail: executiveconnection@iafrica.com
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail claremontcentral@iafrica.com
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