“These properties will deliver more than just nice new homes for families. It’s about the potential this home has to change your path in life, to let you build something for your family, to give your children a better opportunity to make the most of their lives,” he said.
The city anticipated about 375 social housing units within a two-to-four-storey development on the Ottery site, while Lansdowne was expected to provide about 308 units in a four-storey building. The Brackenfell property was earmarked for mixed-use development including about 115 social housing units, 30 gap housing units and retail space, he said.
Two sites — one in the Robinvale area of Wesfleur and the other in Belhar — were planned for the development of single residential gap housing units. Hill-Lewis said the Wesfleur and the Belhar properties were in established residential areas, close to schools, churches, transport corridors, and well situated for gap housing developments — accommodating residents not earning enough to qualify for a home loan, but earning too much to qualify for housing subsidies.
Human settlements MMC councillor Carl Pophaim said: “We will discount all these parcels of land to the housing developer in exchange for the optimal yield of social and gap housing units under our newly developed guidelines for land release.”
ANC councillor Banele Majingo, leader of the opposition in council, welcomed the development, but said the city needed to pick up the pace of addressing the backlog.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address on February 8 highlighted the importance of addressing housing needs and promoting social transformation.
“This city's plan to develop these properties in Lansdowne, Ottery, Brackenfell, Wesfleur, and Belhar, with a focus on social housing and gap housing units, seems to resonate with the ANC's vision for social transformation and economic empowerment.”
But he said “given the amount of backlog we understand these properties are a drop in the ocean, we want more.
“We want to urge the city to pick the pace because if it's too slow, it may cancel the progress made. This means the pipeline must expedited.”
The city is facing obstacles to reduce its housing backlog due to an increasing population and budget cuts.
Last year, Hill-Lewis criticised the national government for choosing “to cut pro-poor funding over government waste, with far-reaching consequences for local government”.
“Cuts to Cape Town's national funding share include R37m from the informal settlement upgrading partnership grant, and R70m from the urban settlements development grant.”
Hill-Lewis called for “equitable share funding”.
“Cape Town's population will soon cross the five million mark, with our city increasingly at the heart of national growth. It is critical that we deliver on our planned infrastructure investments ... over the next three years. These national cuts make our task all the more difficult ...”
Cape Town properties unlocked for affordable housing but city urged to ‘pick up the pace’
The five properties will accommodate 1,344 homes, which is a fraction of the city's overall housing shortfall
Image: Samane JNR Marks
The City of Cape Town is releasing five properties for the development of more than 1,300 affordable housing units, but is being urged to “pick up the pace” in addressing an overall backlog of about 350,000.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis described the move as a “game changer for families in need of well-located affordable rental housing” in an address to the city council on Wednesday. He said 308 units would be built in Lansdowne, 375 in Ottery, 145 in Brackenfell, 116 in Wesfleur and 400 in Belhar.
The five properties will accommodate 1,344 homes, addressing a fraction of the city's overall housing shortfall, but also welcomed by the opposition in council.
Public participation is also set to take place on the proposed release of portions of Mowbray Golf Course for a major long-term development spanning over 42 hectares. The mayor said several municipal-owned properties, where 4,200 units were due to be built, were released less than two years ago.
“Bit by bit, property by property, we are changing the affordable housing picture in Cape Town. Each of these developments might seem relatively small on their own compared to the pressing overall need. But take a step back and look at the full scale of our affordable housing pipeline, and you will see that housing in our city is undergoing a transformation,” said Hill-Lewis.
“These properties will deliver more than just nice new homes for families. It’s about the potential this home has to change your path in life, to let you build something for your family, to give your children a better opportunity to make the most of their lives,” he said.
The city anticipated about 375 social housing units within a two-to-four-storey development on the Ottery site, while Lansdowne was expected to provide about 308 units in a four-storey building. The Brackenfell property was earmarked for mixed-use development including about 115 social housing units, 30 gap housing units and retail space, he said.
Two sites — one in the Robinvale area of Wesfleur and the other in Belhar — were planned for the development of single residential gap housing units. Hill-Lewis said the Wesfleur and the Belhar properties were in established residential areas, close to schools, churches, transport corridors, and well situated for gap housing developments — accommodating residents not earning enough to qualify for a home loan, but earning too much to qualify for housing subsidies.
Human settlements MMC councillor Carl Pophaim said: “We will discount all these parcels of land to the housing developer in exchange for the optimal yield of social and gap housing units under our newly developed guidelines for land release.”
ANC councillor Banele Majingo, leader of the opposition in council, welcomed the development, but said the city needed to pick up the pace of addressing the backlog.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address on February 8 highlighted the importance of addressing housing needs and promoting social transformation.
“This city's plan to develop these properties in Lansdowne, Ottery, Brackenfell, Wesfleur, and Belhar, with a focus on social housing and gap housing units, seems to resonate with the ANC's vision for social transformation and economic empowerment.”
But he said “given the amount of backlog we understand these properties are a drop in the ocean, we want more.
“We want to urge the city to pick the pace because if it's too slow, it may cancel the progress made. This means the pipeline must expedited.”
The city is facing obstacles to reduce its housing backlog due to an increasing population and budget cuts.
Last year, Hill-Lewis criticised the national government for choosing “to cut pro-poor funding over government waste, with far-reaching consequences for local government”.
“Cuts to Cape Town's national funding share include R37m from the informal settlement upgrading partnership grant, and R70m from the urban settlements development grant.”
Hill-Lewis called for “equitable share funding”.
“Cape Town's population will soon cross the five million mark, with our city increasingly at the heart of national growth. It is critical that we deliver on our planned infrastructure investments ... over the next three years. These national cuts make our task all the more difficult ...”
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