Artscape’s Social Housing Project Set for Progress

After a six-year wait since the approval of the Founders Garden project for social housing in Cape Town’s city center, the Western Cape Government has begun the process of selecting a developer for the site.

This site, situated next to the Artscape theater complex, has been earmarked for social housing since at least 2016. In 2019, the provincial cabinet approved the release of the 2.2-hectare plot on Cape Town’s Foreshore for this initiative.

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On Friday, the government issued an advertisement to attract a developer for the site.

During a media briefing at the location on Friday morning, government officials revealed that the development will feature 1,476 social housing units along with 1,162 open-market units.

The social housing units will be exclusively for rent, targeting households earning less than R22,000 per month. These projects will receive one-time subsidies from the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), with rent capped at about R7,200.

The Founders Garden initiative will be the largest among three inner-city affordable housing projects on land owned by the Western Cape Government, comprising four 16-storey buildings.

Moreover, the site will include an early childhood development center and a publicly accessible garden space. It is conveniently within walking distance of the MyCiTi Civic Centre Station.

The selected developer will be required to apply to the SHRA for subsidies. However, recent budget cuts to the SHRA could lead to further delays in funding for the project.

“This is not a housing development on the outskirts, for which this provincial government often receives criticism. People will have closer access to job opportunities,” noted Infrastructure MEC Tertuis Simmers during the briefing.

Premier Alan Winde emphasized that the development would exemplify a “perfect partnership” between the private sector and the government, with the project estimated to be worth over R2 billion.

Buhle Booi, the head of political organizing at the housing advocacy group Ndifuna Ukwazi, welcomed the news with caution, advocating for the incorporation of transitional housing within the site’s plans.

He recognized the necessity of open-market units to help subsidize the affordable housing units but stressed the importance of enhancing state funding to assist more lower-income families.

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This article was first published here.

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