The City of Cape Town is set to auction around 50 municipal properties across the metro on Thursday, 26 February, including residential, commercial and industrial sites, as well as the Good Hope Centre.
The Good Hope Centre will be offered for redevelopment, with heritage elements such as the dome retained.
“By releasing this site for redevelopment, we are giving the private sector the opportunity to create a mixed-use precinct. Heritage elements are preserved, and the surrounding land can be used for multiple purposes,” said Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.
Vos said the auction will release about 282 000 m² of land city-wide, including residential sites in Kraaifontein, Westridge and Athlone, commercial sites in the Foreshore, Mitchells Plain and Bellville, and industrial sites in Atlantis, Epping and Khayelitsha.
However, National Coloured Congress Whip Anastatia Davids criticised the move, saying prime public land should prioritise affordable housing, economic inclusion and spatial redress.
“The Good Hope Centre holds historical and civic significance. Any proposal to auction such a site must clearly demonstrate tangible public benefit and not merely commercial redevelopment value. Cape Town remains one of the most unequal cities in the world. Decisions taken today must correct that inequality, not deepen it. Public land must serve the public,” Davids said.
Bidders will be able to participate online or in person.
Photo: City of Cape Town
