The rooftop pool and the beautiful Central City vistas aren’t the only reason Richard Boxford, managing director for property agency Life Residential, and his team recently moved into Mandela Rhodes Place.
“Mandela Rhodes Place does offer a premier residential lifestyle …” Richard concedes, but says the reason for their move has more to do with their long association with the building and the CBD: Life Residential has kept the Central City as its sole business focus for six years, and is responsible for more than 60% of the sales in Mandela Rhodes Place itself.
The word on the street
The ground floor of Mandela Rhodes Place is part of the pedestrian life of the city; a Doppio Zero restaurant spills out onto St George's Mall, catering to hungry passersby and patrons. Even in the quiet moments of the city, the lobby area of Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel contains the sounds of guests returning from an evening meeting or a night out on Long Street.
“The vibrancy of the place is really appealing, especially to younger professionals who are excited about the live-work-play combination presented to those staying in the Central City. By far the most common experience is that people who live in town, work in town. The opportunity to come down from your apartment and walk to work, a restaurant or anything else you want to do in the CBD is a tempting proposition for buyers,” says Richard.
The Earth Fair Food Market every Thursday is one such event that brings upper St George's Mall to the boil with delicious food and hungry patrons.
Walking the talk
“We walk between the various properties on our books when we have viewings, and some prospective clients, especially those from Joburg or the older generation who haven’t been into town for 10 years, keep looking over their shoulders. Having clients understand that town is clean and safe makes selling easier. In fact, we wouldn’t be in business if the CBD wasn’t as well-managed as it is. The infrastructure upgrades also add to the value of Central City property – the St George’s MyCiTi bus stop makes an already very walkable city centre even more accessible for us,” notes Richard.
Frank Gormley of Eurocape, the developers of Mandela Rhodes Place and owners of several units in it, say they found the building empty in 2003. “In fact, 70% of the buildings in that area were empty. The downtown area was in severe decline at the time – some said terminal decline. Hotels used to warn guests from going into the Central City, now, they encourage them to do just that.
“The Mandela Rhodes Foundation’s faith in the project has been rewarded and our good working relationship with the foundation continues. Today Cape Town is a living, vibrant and safe city that will go from strength to strength.”
Trends for future Cape Town
“Two future trends of the city are the increased availability of affordable residential properties – another 40 000 people could be living in the inner city. Secondly, the creative district on the east side of the city, aided by the growing momentum of World Design Capital 2014, is now the place to be. Eurocape is working on Parliament Place in Roeland Street at the moment. Cape Town is seen internationally as one of the leading design cities of the world and East City will benefit hugely from that understanding,” says Frank.
“The East City resembles what upper St George’s looked like eight years ago, with the same potential. Cape Town can expect to see large investments in that area.”
Do you want to live or invest in the city?
Life Residential: Cnr Wale Street & St George’s Mall | www.liferes.co.za, 021 424 3969
Eurocape: 85 St George’s Mall | www.eurocape.co.za, 021 426 4759
Investing in the future
Eurocape run The Rainbow Academy, which selects 30 disadvantaged matriculants and works with them for a year to ensure that the following year they either start university or enter into full-time employment. They also started Amawele, an Irish charity that helps complete teacher training and curriculum development through the pairing of schools in South Africa and Ireland.
During 2012, Life Residential are donating a 3% commission on every property sale to the Wildlands Conservation Trust in its work to protect rhinos – and encourage both the buyer and seller to match the donation. Further regular donations have led to the adoption of Ubomi, currently a mother of two rhino calves. “Wildlands is a very solid community empowerment initiative and we’re in a position to do something rather than nothing,” says Richard.
This article first appeared in the April 2012 issue of City Views. Read it online.
Photos of the rooftop swimming pool at Mandela Rhodes Place and Richard Boxford: Lisa Burnell.