CAPE TOWN’S FULCRUM SKYSCRAPER TO HOST AFFORDABLE HOUSING

South Africa’s Cape Town’s Municipal Planning
Tribunal has approved a proposal for the Fulcrum skyscraper in Sea Point to
include affordable housing.

The tribunal on Tuesday approved the land use application
of the Berman Brothers Group and investors Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) for the residential building at the intersection
of Main and Kloof roads to retain 20% of the 140 flats as “affordable” housing.

The 60-m-high residential building is set to
reserve 28 of its 144 apartments for households earning under US $1276 a month
to rent. If the development proceeds, this will be the first development in
decades to include affordable housing in the seaside suburb.

“This decision is not just about this building, but
the cumulative impact of buildings like this over the coming decades”. In order
to build a sustainable and efficient city “we need the City to promote radical
densification in every well located area,” said Jared Rossouw of NU.

The City of Cape Town’s team however argued against
the proposal by the Berman Brothers group because of the height of the
building. The Sea Point Ratepayers’ Association opposed the proposal for the
same reason.

Ndifuna Ukwazi argued against the City’s stance,
saying that Cape Town “requires dense, high-rise, and inclusive buildings
across well-located areas to provide for affordable housing and to address
spatial inequality.”

There were also concerns on the impact of the structure on the surrounding areas but Ndifuna emphasized that an environmental assessment was done last year and the environmental authority gave a green light for the project to proceed.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/04/the-fulcrum-skyscraper-in-south-africa-to-host-affordable-housing/