Technology News South Africa

New Amazon Africa headquarters to be built in Cape Town

US retail giant Amazon will be the anchor tenant of a R4bn River Club development that has gotten the go-ahead from the City of Cape Town.
New Amazon Africa headquarters to be built in Cape Town

The 15-hectare parcel of land has been approved for development by the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust. The planned mixed-use development will be a significant boost to the Cape Town economy as the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown remains. It is envisaged that 5,239 jobs will be created in the construction phase alone.

The project will also create up to 19,000 indirect and induced jobs. The development design intends to create a 150,000sqm2 mixed-use space, divided into commercial and housing uses across two precincts. The developer intends 31,900sqm2 to be used for residential purposes.

"The proposed development will meet the requirements of inclusivity and integration. It combines various land uses and a mix of income groups by offering market-driven and affordable housing opportunities - the latter of which will be physically integrated with the other residential units in the apartment complexes," said the City of Cape Town in a statement.

Other parts of the development include:

  • 59,600 qm2 office space
  • 20,700sqm2 retail space
  • 8,200sqm2 hotel
  • 41,00sqm2 gym
  • Restaurants, conferencing, school and events space
  • The developer stated that 20%of the residential floor space will be allocated for affordable housing opportunities

"The planned mixed-use development will be a significant boost to the economy and the people of Cape Town in the aftermath of the national Covid-19 lockdown. The City has carefully and thoroughly considered all of the submissions and concerns during the appeal process. We are acutely aware of the need to balance investment and job creation, along with heritage and planning considerations. It is clear that this development offers many economic, social and environmental benefits for the area. We are committed to driving investment to revitalise the economy, which is slowly recovering following the impact of Covid-19," said executive mayor Dan Plato.

While the development has been approved as a concept, conditions have been attached requiring further stages of approval during which the developer must submit detailed plans on a range of development aspects.

The development is envisaged to take place in phases, with construction set to take place over three to five years. The development of Precinct 1 includes mixed-used and a floor space of approximately 60,000sqm2. Precinct 2 will house the Amazon headquarters, which is 70,000sqm2 of floor space.

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