Harbour Arch, the R14 billion mixed-use precinct proposed for the Foreshore, has been approved by the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal in a meeting on Thursday October 24.
The development will be built on the corner of Christiaan Barnard and Heerengracht streets, and is expected to take five to 10 years to be completed (“Investment boom”, CapeTowner, April 25).
Modelled on Johannesburg’s Melrose Arch, also developed by the Amdec Group, the Harbour Arch will be based on the same model of an open “complex” which the developers described as a “live, work, play” environment.
Once complete, Harbour Arch will comprise six towers above a pedestrian walkway which will run throughout the precinct.
Called Central Park and situated on the eighth floor, the interlinked podium level will be tenanted by restaurants, coffee shops, cocktail bars, gyms, as well as retail and lifestyle outlets.
There will also be street level motor dealerships, retail space, boutique office space, upmarket residential apartments, and two Marriott branded hotels.
The initial development phase will comprise 432 apartments, two motor dealerships, retail, leisure, and commercial office space.
In addition to a residents-only pool, exercise area, and terrace, all located on the 17th floor, the building will also feature a roof garden and viewing deck on the 24th floor; fibre to the home, waste recycling, water-saving facilities and rainwater harvesting; a centralised district cooling plant; low-energy LED lighting and extensive parking.
The site will also be home to two new hotels, to be operated by Marriott International, long-standing partners of the Amdec Group. Work is set to get under way imminently.