Sign up with Googlecapetownguy
Expert Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
- Messages
- 3,206
Newlands Stadium price at least R115 million - Rawson
Newlands Rugby Ground - if it ever comes up for sale - would cost at least R115 million.
Speculation is growing that rugby could be played at the Green Point Stadium after 2010. If so, what will happen to the Newlands Rugby Ground? What would the value be if it was sold for residential development purposes?
Paul Henry, a director of Rawson Developers, and his team have done some homework on this.
"We assume," says Henry, "that the council would consider seriously high-rise blocks of residential apartments and offices. This is, of course, only one possible option."
Henry says his investigation had been set in motion by his company's purchase of a 20 000m2 site a few hundred metres from Newlands (for a price of R32m). On this, Rawson hopes to build 260 apartments in 13 blocks, two and three storeys high. He had also heard reports that some form of large-scale development at Newlands had been proposed to the city leaders.
"In our investigation we assumed that an area of about 44 000m2 could eventually be covered by perhaps 400 apartments in blocks of varying sizes," he says.
"A development of the rugby grounds would be certain to raise objections from the local community, the Heritage officials, conservation officials and almost every Springbok and Western Province rugby supporter.
"However, Cape Town probably does not need two facilities of such a high standard as the Green Point stadium and Newlands, but it will take a lot to convince our rugby public."
Henry says Rawson developers, however, has to tread warily on its own project proposals.
But he adds the public also has to accept that densification and growth of already-developed areas are inevitable.
"Worldwide, this is the trend. With densification, traffic congestion will always be a major concern. Many of the streets in the older southern suburbs were designed for horse drawn transport. Redevelopment (on the scale envisaged by a possible takeover of Newlands) will call for a rethink on transport matters and, ultimately, systems that actually reduce the number of cars in the area.
"In most cases, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban support redevelopment proposals for large land parcels in already serviced areas. The developers, however, make a big contribution to the related infrastructure at Cape Town by paying to the council a bulk services levy of R10 000 to R35 000 for every development opportunity created.
"Every 10 fairly inexpensive sectional title apartments can, therefore, add about R350 000 to the developer's costs but this contribution can make a real difference to the transformation - and ultimate improvement of - the whole precinct," he said.
Published on the web by Cape Argus on December 20, 2008.
Newlands Rugby Ground - if it ever comes up for sale - would cost at least R115 million.
Speculation is growing that rugby could be played at the Green Point Stadium after 2010. If so, what will happen to the Newlands Rugby Ground? What would the value be if it was sold for residential development purposes?
Paul Henry, a director of Rawson Developers, and his team have done some homework on this.
"We assume," says Henry, "that the council would consider seriously high-rise blocks of residential apartments and offices. This is, of course, only one possible option."
Henry says his investigation had been set in motion by his company's purchase of a 20 000m2 site a few hundred metres from Newlands (for a price of R32m). On this, Rawson hopes to build 260 apartments in 13 blocks, two and three storeys high. He had also heard reports that some form of large-scale development at Newlands had been proposed to the city leaders.
"In our investigation we assumed that an area of about 44 000m2 could eventually be covered by perhaps 400 apartments in blocks of varying sizes," he says.
"A development of the rugby grounds would be certain to raise objections from the local community, the Heritage officials, conservation officials and almost every Springbok and Western Province rugby supporter.
"However, Cape Town probably does not need two facilities of such a high standard as the Green Point stadium and Newlands, but it will take a lot to convince our rugby public."
Henry says Rawson developers, however, has to tread warily on its own project proposals.
But he adds the public also has to accept that densification and growth of already-developed areas are inevitable.
"Worldwide, this is the trend. With densification, traffic congestion will always be a major concern. Many of the streets in the older southern suburbs were designed for horse drawn transport. Redevelopment (on the scale envisaged by a possible takeover of Newlands) will call for a rethink on transport matters and, ultimately, systems that actually reduce the number of cars in the area.
"In most cases, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban support redevelopment proposals for large land parcels in already serviced areas. The developers, however, make a big contribution to the related infrastructure at Cape Town by paying to the council a bulk services levy of R10 000 to R35 000 for every development opportunity created.
"Every 10 fairly inexpensive sectional title apartments can, therefore, add about R350 000 to the developer's costs but this contribution can make a real difference to the transformation - and ultimate improvement of - the whole precinct," he said.
Published on the web by Cape Argus on December 20, 2008.
