‘The most iconic real estate in South Africa’ is looking not just to boost the appeal of the precinct for locals, but also to bump overall visitor numbers to 35-million a year
Cape Town’s landmark V&A Waterfront is going through something of a growth spurt. Already the most visited destination in Africa — it attracts about 25-million people a year — the precinct intends to add 300,000m² of space over the next two years to bump that number up to 35-million.
The numbers are upbeat, with Growthpoint’s most recent interim results showing the precinct has rebounded from the pandemic. Retail sales in December were at a record R1bn, which is 28% above the December 2019 figure; vacancies were at a0.7% across the precinct; and visitor numbers for the rolling 12-month period ended December 31 were up 34.7%79% of pre-Covid levels. In December, V&A hotels achieved occupancy rates of 84%, 21% up on pre-pandemic occupancy.
Green conducts most of his meetings on walkabouts, which allows him to keep tabs on what’s happening on the ground. We pass a yellow container — a pioneering modular black-water treatment plant. The water it generates is used to flush toilets and for irrigation around the precinct. While the precinct used to be frequented mostly by international visitors, Covid shifted the visitor profile. “Capetonians felt they belonged,” Vlietman says. “It was always seen as an elitist place to visit. But the narrative of ‘It’s overpriced and just for tourists’ is totally incorrect. It’s a whole lot more than that. If people took the time they’d see the Waterfront is like a micro-city within a city; it is an all-encompassing place.
Marble co-owner and chef David Higgs believes the Waterfront has much to offer. “A great amount of traffic comes through there, not only tourists. It’s a place that appeals to locals and internationals for a number of reasons — there’s parking, there’s a safety aspect and it’s clean.”
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