The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has appointed Gary Fisher, head of public works in the Western Cape Government, and Grant Elliott, regional manager for Redefine Properties in the Western Cape, as board members.
The board, whose members fill non-executive positions, is made up largely of property owners and developers who have a vested interest in ensuring that the Cape Town CBD remains a safe, clean, caring and a quality environment for businesses to operate in.
As members of the board, the pair will also be focused on working with various stakeholders and partners in the Central City, such as local government, to find solutions to some of the challenges of the area and to encourage and maintain business and investor confidence in the CBD as a business node.
According to Rob Kane, chairperson of the board, Fisher and Elliot were the ideal candidates to fill the positions. “The CCID’s focus for the next 10 years is to continue to grow Cape Town’s CBD as a globally competitive business hub and a world-class city. The provincial government and Redefine’s investment plans and their passion for the CBD support our belief in the continued success of the CBD.”
For Fisher, accepting the position on the board was a logical step given the provincial government’s prominence in and commitment to investing in the CBD. “The province is heavily invested in the CBD, owning 85 000m2 of space and occupying 56 000m2 of leased space,” he says.
The CBD has, according to Fisher, an important role to play as a business node in the province. “We are investing in numerous development projects, including the revamp of the Provincial Legislature in Wale Street and the development of 25 000m2 of new office space in upper Loop Street, among various other projects.”
Grant Elliot’s acceptance of the CCID board position as underpinned by a passion for the Cape Town CBD. The company has tenants such as Standard Bank, Telkom, Vodacom, Webber Wentzel and government that represent around R1.7 billion of investment in the CBD.
“Redefine is a big levy payer and is heavily invested in the Central City. It makes sense for us to participate and add value where possible,” says Elliot. Sustainability and energy-saving strategies are a key focus for Elliot and he hopes to bring that thinking and expertise with him onto the CCID board. “We have just invested R15 million in energy initiatives in Pier Place, which is occupied by Vodacom. World-class cities are those that have sustainability practices in place and I look forward to sharing some of my expertise in growing the CBD as a globally competitive and sustainable business node,” he concludes.