issue si xt een 2nd Quarter 2015
edits magazine
your
Century City Night Market 2015 Intaka Island on the last Friday of each month, from May to August
free copy
Winter preparations in place
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e are well prepared for the rapidly approaching winter. All CCPOA and City of Cape Town storm water inlets, drains and channels – more than 250 in total – have been checked and cleaned of litter, sand and plant debris to avoid flooding. While winter is upon us, our city within a city is far from hibernating, with an exciting line up of events over the next few months - not least of which is our hugely popular Night Market that takes place from 4pm to 9pm on the last Friday of the month from May through to August. It’s no secret that with winter comes an increased demand on our severely strained electricity grid and we call on all stakeholders to join us in switching off non-essential lights and electrical appliances to help minimise loadshedding. Let’s lead the way.
Chris’s Corner
Chris Blackshaw
ceo | century city property owners’ association
Welcome...
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ou will have noticed that the Century City skyline has changed dramatically in recent months as construction of the all-green Bridgeways precinct adjacent to the Virgin Active powers ahead. This will soon be the new commercial hub of Century City, boasting, inter alia, a 900-seat conference centre, a new hotel, restaurants, coffee shops, offices and apartments, further breathing 24-hour life into our city within a city. Understandably, as our city has grown so too has the number of cars using the road system, particularly at peak periods. Details of new infrastructure, including road widening, which are currently being rolled out to ease peak traffic congestion, are detailed in this edition. Happy reading!
Maggie Rowley
ccpoa communications manager
EDITOR: Michele Attwood | 079 586 7926 | atbmichele@gmail.com ADVERTISING MANAGER: Bianca Church | 021 552 6889 | bianca@centurycity.co.za DESIGN & LAYOUT: Elinore de Lisle | 083 574 8937 | elinore@iafrica.com COVER PHOTO: Century City Night Market by Michel Dei Cont
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Our Growing City
Our Growing City
Bridge Park awarded 5-Star Green Star rating
Conference Centre on track
he 18,000 square metre Bridge Park office development in Century City has been awarded a 5-Star Green Star SA Office v1 Design rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa, bringing to five the number of Green Star rated buildings in the all-green Bridgeways precinct. Designed by dhk Architects and being developed at a cost of R450million in a joint venture by Rabie Property Group and Growthpoint Properties, Bridge Park comprises two four-storey buildings set over a shared basement and podium. Construction of the first building, the 9,900 square metre Bridge Park East is due for completion in June this year, while Bridge Park West, comprising 8100 square metres of prime offices, is scheduled for completion in July. These latest Green Star ratings bring the number of 5-Star Green Star rated buildings in Century City to four, including South Africa’s first 5-Star Green
Star rated building, Aurecon. The fourth 5-Star Green Star rated building in the Century City precinct is Chevron. Century City is also home to two 4-Star Green Star SA rated buildings: the Business Centre and Number 3 Bridgeways, which were accredited in both the Design and As Built categories. Bridge Park is ideally suited to corporates looking for office space between 1,600 square
metres and 10,000 square metres and discussions with a number of large corporates are well advanced. The Bridgeways precinct also includes the R1billion Century City Square development that includes, inter alia, a conference centre and hotel, and which forms part of the Green Star SA Custom Mixed Use rating pilot programme of the Green Building Council of South Africa.
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he Century City Conference Centre, part of the new, green, R1 billion mixed-use development under construction in Century City, is on track to open in February 2016 and the first bookings have been confirmed. According to Glyn Taylor and Gary Koetser, joint CEOs of the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel (Pty) Ltd, construction is on schedule and they anticipate taking handover of the buildings in November this year to allow them to be comfortably operational by their first confirmed booking in February. The Century City Conference Centre has a total capacity of 1,900 guests across 20 venues and is designed for maximum flexibility. The Conference Centre and the 125-room hotel with ground floor restaurants and bistros will front onto a large, bustling square that is destined to become the new commercial and hospitality hub of Century City. The new hotel
will bring the total number of hotel rooms within easy walking distance of the Conference Centre to over 600. Taylor said the CCCC had been designed to complement the Cape Town International Conference Centre and to add to the allure of Cape Town as the top conference city in Africa. “We launched the CCCC to the hospitality trade at the recent Meetings Africa 2015 convention in Johannesburg and it was very well received. “Literally thousands of people
flocked to our stand, including the Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom, and there was huge excitement. It was encouraging to see from the interactions we had there that the Western Cape is clearly seen not only as one of the world’s leading leisure destinations, but as a forerunner for business travel globally.” Koetser added that the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel was part of a significant private equity investment by the Rabie Property Group to promote business travel to the Western Cape.
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Our Growing City
Our Growing City
Manhattan Quarter coming soon!
Matrix apartments sold out within minutes
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anhattan Quarter, Rabie’s latest residential development at Century City comprising 63 spacious sectional title apartments, is being released for sale. Miguel Rodrigues, Development manager for Rabie Property Group, said the apartments are on average larger than those developed at Century City to date and will vary in size from one- bedroom units of 70 square metres to a four-bedroom penthouse of 229 square metres. “These sizes exclude balconies, which range between 10 and 65 square metres. “As such, these apartments are perfect to live in and we expect a large percentage of purchasers to be owner-occupiers, as not only are the units more spacious than usual, but they are also very centrally located and in easy access to Canal Walk Shopping Centre, schools and creches.” Manhattan Quarter is being built on a site adjoining Manhattan Towers – a 15-storey
block of 82 apartments set over ground floor commercial components that include a restaurant and conference facilities – and Manhattan Wharfside – a strip of single and double storey apartments fronting onto the Grand Canal. The existing Manhattan components were built in red facebrick and this architectural element will be carried through to Manhattan Quarter. Apartments are priced from R1,6million to R4,8million and all apartments will offer secure, covered parking for two cars, a first for Century City. “Two, three and four-bedroom apartments will each get two bays and all the one bed units will get a tandem bay.” Rodrigues said apartments will overlook either the Grand Canal or the largest park in Century City, both of which would provide a scenic outlook and a sense of peace and tranquility. The apartments will be housed in two adjoining blocks with a staggered skyline of three, four and five-
storey sections. The rest of the Manhattan precinct is also being developed and will include a commercial component, a restaurant, a large natural park and a crèche. Construction is due to start in July with transfers scheduled for October 2016. Brian Usher of Property World, the on-site sales agents for Rabie’s new residential developments at Century City, said they expected sales to be brisk and in line with the two previous developments – Mayfair and the Matrix – both of which sold out literally within the first 45 minutes at their respective launches. He said would-be purchasers who had attended the Matrix launch but not managed to secure a unit are being given the first opportunity to buy at Manhattan Quarter before the development is released to the broader market. “They left the Matrix launch disappointed so to be fair we are giving them first bite.”
ll 51 apartments in The Matrix, a high rise, mixeduse development under construction that will form part of Century City’s R1billion Conference Centre precinct, were sold within 45 minutes at a public launch in April. This is the second residential project by the Rabie Property Group at Century City to sell out in less than an hour at its public launch. In October last year all 70 units in Mayfair Gardens were sold out within 45 minutes, forcing the developer to release phase two of the development months ahead of schedule. At the Matrix launch impatient would-be buyers queued at the doors to the venue several hours before the advertised time,
desperate to secure one of the sought-after apartments. When the doors opened, some even broke into a run to get to the sales team who had the deeds of sale. Less than an hour later, just under R100m of prime Century City real estate had been snapped up off-plan in the form of one, two and three-bedroom section title apartments varying in size from 45 to 103 square metres, and priced from R1,4million to just over R3million.
Office suites now selling The commercial component of the Matrix comprises six double-volume retail units on the ground floor, ideal for highvisibility destination retail, and three floors of flexible office
space ranging in size from 120 square metres to a full floor of 1,530 square metres. Rabie Commercial Broker Sedica Knight said the ‘funky, retro-styled’ office space offered by the Matrix was perfect for smaller companies who wanted to make a strong creative impact, but demanded the hi-speed connectivity of Century City’s world-class fibre-optic network, along with the ease of hiring meeting and board rooms in the neighbouring conference centre on a daily or hourly basis. Transfer and occupation is planned for early 2016. For more information on commercial sales or letting, contact Sedica Knight or Jean Theron on 021 550 7000.
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City News
Major upgrade to Sable & Bosmansdam Roads to improve Century City traffic
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ajor measures including an R18million upgrade to Sable Road and a R4,5m widening of Bosmansdam Road are being undertaken to improve peak traffic flows at Century City.
“…these measures will have the effect of reducing the current average afternoon peak hour waiting time […] of 31 seconds per vehicle to just 15 seconds per vehicle.” Chris Blackshaw, CEO of the Century City Property Owners’ Association, says any successful mixed-use development the size of Century City, particularly one that includes a major regional shopping centre, generates heavy traffic flows, especially during peak times and over holiday periods. “However, apart from the odd occasion when a major traffic incident in Century City or a bottleneck on the surrounding national and/or arterial roads has adversely impacted on Century City traffic flows, traffic within the precinct generally keeps moving, even at peak traffic times. “That aside, the CCPOA is taking extensive measures to further improve peak traffic flows, while Rabie Property Group has committed to additional infrastructure upgrade to mitigate increased traffic from additional projects coming on stream.”
Infrastructure projects due for completion in 2015 include: the creation of an additional left turn-only lane from Bosmansdam Road into Century Avenue; an additional permanent left lane out of the Bridgeways precinct into Sable Road, with a dedicated free flowing left turn onto the collected distributor road (the road running parallel to the N1); a queue jump lane for the MyCiTi Bus on Sable Road; and a free flowing left hand turn from the N1 Exit 10 off-ramp into Sable Road going west towards Century City. “The engineers say these measures will have the effect of reducing the current average afternoon peak hour waiting time (at the intersection of Sable Road with the west ramp terminal of the N1) of 31 seconds per vehicle to just 15 seconds per vehicle – a saving of over 50%. CCPOA CCTV operators keep a special look out for anything out of the ordinary on the Century City and surrounding road network and response vehicles are immediately despatched to deal with any problems that are identified. “In addition, the timings of the traffic signals are constantly monitored and any required adjustments are immediately reported to the City of Cape Town’s Traffic Management Centre (TMC) for attention; the eight CCTV cameras we erected in 2014 to focus on traffic management have greatly improved our Control Centre visibility and response times. “Agreement has been reached
between the CCPOA and the TMC for both parties to have controlled access to each other’s CCTV networks for traffic management and safety and security purposes, and the linkup between the CCPOA Control Centre and the TMC is urgently being initiated. This will enable the CCPOA Control Room to view what is happening on the adjacent national and main arterial roads in real time.” Two Outsurance pointsmen are deployed during afternoon peak at the Steel Bridge intersection and the City of Cape Town Traffic Officer, contracted by the CCPOA, as well as the two City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Officers based at Century City, are deployed to assist with the management of traffic congestion during peak time and with point duties when necessary. “Furthermore, we installed a pilot Variable Messaging System (VMS) to assist with traffic guidance within Century City in December last year and this was successfully used to assist with Ratanga Junction’s peak season parking management. Three VMS signs have so far been installed on Century Boulevard and we continue to use these to direct traffic flows and convey messages about traffic congestion and incidents in Century City and the surrounding road network. “The pilot project will be reviewed in June and if deemed necessary additional VMS signs will be installed at Century City before the end of the year.”
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Our Growing City
Century City acquires cutting-edge LPR security system
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entury City has upgraded its Licence Plate Recognition system with cutting edge technology, as part of its overall safety and security strategy to prevent crime in the precinct. Chris Blackshaw, CEO of the Century City Property Owners’ Association, the non-profit company responsible for the day to day running of the precinct, said Century City has been the site of an Automated Number Plate Recognition pilot project in conjunction with the Provincial SAPS War Room since 2010. “With developments in this technology, we undertook a comprehensive upgrade of our system in January this year that includes the introduction of specialised Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras at all five entrances, covering all lanes and both incoming and outgoing vehicles. “These cameras have vastly
improved both day time and night time visibility of vehicles,” he said. Blackshaw said as part of an earlier upgrade, all cameras were moved from a wireless system to fibre optics as part of the rollout of Century City Connect, Century City’s cutting-edge, open access fibre optic network that is enabling the country’s fastest voice, broadband and multimedia services in the precinct. “The current upgrade includes the installation of a new software management system, which provides an early warning system of any suspicious vehicles entering the precinct and allows us to track the movements of these vehicles around Century City. In addition, the software can provide us with a history of a particular vehicle entering and leaving Century City.” Marinus Boshoff, Century City’s newly appointed Safety and Security Manager, said the upgraded LPR system, which
is linked to a comprehensive, localised database of registration numbers of vehicles suspected of being involved in criminal activity, has already reaped extremely positive rewards “with multiple hits being made on a daily basis” that have lead to a number of arrests. He said that when a suspicious vehicle enters Century City an alarm is set off in the Century City Control Centre. “The Control Centre manager then verifies the vehicle with its registration number and possible case number and, if verified, then Milnerton SAPS, who investigates further, and the Canal Walk control room are notified.” Blackshaw said the LPR system is an integral part of Century City’s Safety and Security strategy, which involves the deployment of state of the art technology in tandem with visible policing on the ground, backed up by a Rapid Response capability.
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City Life Breakfast in the City
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fter seven successful years, Time Square Cafe in the Colosseum building has closed, making way for an exciting new development that will be unveiled shortly. Breakfast fans need not fret, however. Apart from the vast choice of breakfast outlets and restaurants in Canal Walk, Century City boasts a wide variety of offerings to satisfy every hungry sunrise cry.
catering for every taste, from cereals to cold meats and delectable pastries to a full English breakfast. The crystal towers deli is another must-do for the early bird. What better way to conquer the Monday (or any day) blues than being spoilt for choice and treated to the Crystal life ambiance with a full buffet as early as 06:30am? Alternatively, if time is of the essence, and a fast, fresh, healthy breakfast is what you need before (or after) you hit the gym, crave - in the Estuaries precinct - is for you. So there is no shortage of variety and experiences to be had at Century City. Go and get a taste of yours!
cin cin
RUMP S P E C I A L
The Slug & Lettuce Century City
R99 T’s & C’s apply
Vida e caffe in the Colosseum building is home to perhaps the most convenient breakfast offerings for the on-the-go early bird from the handy breakfast wrap, croissants and muffins to an array of other breakfast delights including their famous Cape Town brewed coffees. Just around the corner, relax with a full breakfast buffet at the Colosseum Luxury Hotel’s cin cin restaurant. This delicious offering is served until 10.30am and includes a breakfast feast
crave
The popular waterside tribakery restaurant in the Quays is under new ownership. Look forward to a new rebranded venue and positive changes, including new operating hours, within the next few months!
300g Rump + 300ml Castle Draught 21 Day matured, A Grade, 300g Rump with Pampoen koekies & Fries The Slug & Lettuce Century City. Colosseum Building, Century Way, Century City.
021 555 0158
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City Life
conditioners at nights and on weekends.
The power is in your hands. Load shedding is set to continue for some time, but the more electricity saved, the fewer the power interruptions.
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entury City Property Owners’ Association calls on all stakeholders to switch off non-essential lights and electrical appliances at night to help minimize load shedding. Chris Blackshaw, CEO of the CCPOA, said that when driving around Century City at night he is struck by just how many office buildings had lights blazing throughout. “The South African Property Owners’ Association, the voice of commercial property in the country, is calling on its members to reduce electricity consumption to minimize load shedding for everyone’s benefit. “We in turn call on our
stakeholders to support this campaign and switch off nonessential lights and electrical appliances, including television monitors, geysers, photocopiers and computers, at night.” Blackshaw said with the country’s electricity supply under severe strain, resulting in increasing instances of load shedding, all stakeholders need to band together to implement initiatives to reduce demand on the grid. “Century City is the third largest commercial node in the Western Cape and as such is a significant consumer of electricity. If we pull together we can make a real difference.”
Let’s start at the very beginning
Start with the biggest electricityguzzlers first, rather than worrying too much about items that don’t use much electricity. Big energy users are heating, air conditioning, lighting, water heating and major appliances.
Thrifty tips
• Instead of heaters, use cuddly throws to keep warm. Better yet, get crafty and knit or crochet your own. • Go retro and use door draught excluders in funky styles and shapes. • Use hot water bottles.
Lighting
Heating and air conditioning
At home: Replace your old bulbs for the LED equivalent. It is a small cost to use 90% less electricity and they last up to 20 years. At work: Install efficient lighting systems, such as timers and motion sensors to turn lights off when nobody is using them.
At home: Heat (and cool) only the parts of your home that you’re using. At work: Use programmable climate control and/or zonecontrol thermostats, to lower climates when employees are out of the office. Turn off air
Tough tips
Take a navy shower; it saves energy and water. Turn on shower and wet yourself all over. Turn off shower and soap up. Turn on shower to rinse. Done. Alternatively, keep your time in the shower to five minutes or less, including the time it takes for the water to get hot.
At home: Don’t set your fridge temperature colder than necessary. Set your refrigerator between 2°C and 5°C and your freezer between -20°C and - 22°C. At work: Use energy-efficient office equipment and pay attention to auxiliary devices. Switch the power off at the wall or set machines to stand-by when not in use.
Top tips, minimum effort
Water heating
At home: Manage your geyser. Set a timer and switch it off if out of the home all day or when leaving on weekend getaways and longer holidays. At work: With the exception of food services, water heaters need not maintain maximum water temperatures. Reduce water temperatures overnight and on weekends.
Major appliances
Tech tips
Use a laptop instead of a desktop. Check your computer’s powersaving preferences and choose either sleep or hibernate mode when not in use. Better yet, power down completely. Change your computer’s screen brightness settings; it saves energy and is easier on the eyes, particularly at night. When your printer or scanner is not in use, switch it off.
• Make switching off quicker and easier by using power strips. That way you can switch off four or more appliances at once. • Don’t fill the kettle if you only require a couple of cups of water. • Unearth all those small cooking appliances that have not seen the light of day since their purchase. Most use less power than your oven. • Cook twice the amount of food and freeze for future meals to save energy and time. • Don’t use a 60 or 100 watt bulb when a 40 watt will do. • Turn off the TV and computer and snuggle up with a good book instead.
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City Life
Father’s Day Adventure
Events at Century City you don’t want to miss Night Market
29 MAy | IntAkA IslAnd Eco-cEntrE
Held on the last Friday of the month from May through August, the Century City Night Market makes for a perfect Friday evening out. Cuddle up under a heater in our tented seating areas or find a cosy spot inside the Eco-Centre and enjoy the live music, food and ambience of the Century City Night Market.
20 JunE | IntAkA IslAnd
The ultimate adventure for kids and dads! Based at Intaka Island, kids and dads are treated to 24 hours of nonstop fun, including canoeing, wall climbing, a night-hike and a camp out at Intaka.
Women’s Day Luncheon
Craft Beer Night
8 August | thE towErs rEstAurAnt, crystAl towErs hotEl
13 JunE | slug & lEttucE
Live music will entertain guests while a craft beer master takes us through the pairing of a selection of Cape Towns’ finest craft beer and delicious eats from the kitchen of Slug & Lettuce.
Always a favourite on the Century City calendar, aside from getting up close and personal with our celebrity guest speaker of the day, ladies are also treated to a 3-course meal, complimentary wine and spoilt with a range of gifts, goodie bags and prizes.
Night Market dates 29 MAy | 26 JunE | 31 July | 28 August
perfecting
The fun and festivities at the Century City Night Market continue throughout the winter months, so make a monthly date for good times and good food with good friends.
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City Life
See what’s on at Canal Walk Mother’s Day Competition 6 MAy – 31 MAy
Tell us what you love about your Mom. Go to the Canal Walk Facebook page to enter and you could stand a chance to win a R25,000 jewellery voucher from both Wolf Bros. Jewellers and Pandora Canal Walk. Total Prize valued at R50,000. See ad below.
Canal Walk presents Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs dAtEs: 27 June – 19 July tIMEs: 11am | 12:30pm | 2pm tIckEts: R75 | Book at Computicket
Canal Walk is proud to present Fred Abrahamse & Marcel Meyer’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a beautiful and magical adaptation of the timeless classic by the Brothers Grimm. This fairytale has all the ingredients that make for a visual spectacular, with the combination of a beautiful princess, a charming prince, an evil queen, a magical mirror and seven adorable dwarfs all brought to life with breathtaking sets, magnificent costumes and sweet songs. Canal Walk will donate R6 from each ticket sold, as well as the proceeds of programme sales, to Stop Hunger Now.
Stop Hunger Now Million Meal Challenge 18 July
Canal Walk plays host to the Western Cape leg of the “Million Meal Challenge” packing event, where the goal is to pack One Million Meals nationally on Mandela Day.