The V & A Waterfront has issued a commemorative issue of its Winter 2021 magazine to honour ‘30 years of hope, connection and the best of the V & A’.
It is a reflection on the history of the establishment of the Waterfront in 1990 as well as its growing expansion and development, the harbour area which has become South Africa’s most popular tourist attraction. Continue reading →
The R 9,7 billion V&A Waterfront sale, the largest property transaction in South Africa, by Dubai World to its new local owners Growthpoint and the Public Investment Corportration, has been signed and sealed, and work has already commenced on a R500 million construction project at the Clock Tower, reports the Cape Times.
The Clocktower area of the Waterfront does not attract as many visitors as other sections, as it is further away from the shopping malls, and is not immediately visible to tourists. Users of the Robben Island ferry and workers in office developments close by are the main users of the shops in this section. In a four-year project, the new owners of the Waterfront are converting some of the retail space into office space, to create a ‘professional business district’, paying attention to the heritage value of the Clocktower.
A new head office for Allan Gray is also being developed in the Clocktower precinct. Further developments include the silo building adjacent to the Clocktower precinct, and the collier jetty alongside the Clock Tower retail centre, reports the Cape Argus. A further R4 billion is to be spent in the next ten years to develop a further 220000 square meters of Waterfront land. No announcement has been made about any further hotel developments for the immediate future, which is good news, given the current over-supply of accommodation in Cape Town.
The V&A Waterfront has become a benchmark waterfront development for many similar projects around the world. However, one hopes that the new owners will spare a few Rand for the improvement of visible security, and fixing its parking pay machines, which are constantly out of order!
POSTSCRIPT 27/6: The V&A Waterfront will also focus on how it can better be integrated with the city of Cape Town. “One of the concerns of many Capetonians is that the Waterfront has disjointed itself from the rest of Cape Town. Many locals see it as an island, where only the foreign tourists go” said Wayne van der Vent, PIC’s property MD. The company has not revealed its plans in this regard, but it does want to make the link between the Waterfront and the city more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly, reports The Times.
POSTSCRIPT 7/7: Southern African Tourism Update reports that yet another hotel is to be built in the Waterfront, in the section undergoing renovation, in the Shosholoza Basin, which links the Cape Grace Hotel and the Clock Tower precinct. Construction for the whole Clock Tower precinct is estimated to be completed by 2013.
POSTSCRIPT 20/7: The Weekend Argus has reported that 5000 Nedbank/BOE and Allan Gray employees will be accommodated in the Clocktower precinct once the construction work has been completed. The retail outlets in that area of the Waterfront will be adapetd to suit the needs of the staff working there.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
The owners of the QE2 have applied to the Cape Town port authorities for permission to berth in the harbour, reports MailOnline.
The owners of the luxury liner, Dubai World, also own the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Given the poor economic conditions in Dubai currently, and the need for accommodation in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the owners have planned to bring the ship to Cape Town. The ship would also serve as a tourist attraction, with tours on-board for tourists planned.
The liner was set to have become a floating hotel on Dubai’s man-made Palm Jumeirah island.
Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com
Dubai World, a major global investment company with an increasing number of investments in the leisure industry in South Africa, including Pearl Valley outside Franschhoek, has bought a 50 % share in deluxe safari lodges Singita Lebombo and Singita Sweni, which border on the Kruger Park, reports Travelhub.
The deal does not influence the management nor the marketing of the two Singita properties, both of which are members of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux marketing group.
In a marketing coup to be envied, National Geographic’s Wild Channel (DSTV channel 261) will broadcast live from Singita twice a day from 9 – 15 November. The programme ‘Caught on Safari:Live’ will allow viewers from 166 countries to experience game drives in the game reserve, reports Travelwires.com.