Only two units left at "The Curzon"

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The City of Cape Town has awarded a R3 billion tender to develop the Bellville Velodrome Precinct to Devmet Property Developments, a consortium of Devmark Property Group, GRITprop Investments and the Mettle Property Group, through a competitive bidding process that lasted more than 2 years. The 11.5 ha development, The Galleria, will include retail, business, residential, hotel, sport and conference facilities. The development, which will commence in 2011, will be based on a spine that will provide circulation and connection to all facilities. Parking at various levels and locations (4 500 underground) will be provided, connecting the hotel, convention and sporting facilities, as well as retail, business and residential components. Says Hein Ehlers, Group Managing Director of Devmark Property Group: "The Galleria will be fed from East, West and South by all the independent developments that have evolved between Durban Road and Willie van Schoor Road, and in the valley along Carl Cronje. This will, by far, be the biggest integrated development in the history of the Western Cape." Ehlers continues: "We visualise developing a single spine mall with a vaulted glass structure - similar to the Galleria in Toronto. This new cathedral like space, extending for more than one kilometre, will create a public space that will be the envy of every city in South Africa. It will make a night out to the Velodrome an event; it will be a retail and entertainment destination without parallel." Devmet Property Developments have put together a highly skilled and experienced professional team consisting of project managers BKS and Mitchell Du Plessis Associates, architects L & R and Van der Merwe Miszewski, and city and urban designers Dr Henri Comrie and town planners Urban Dynamics. Says Ehlers: "Thirty per cent of all work will also be awarded to previously disadvantaged companies and this will be monitored by an independent consultant on a monthly basis with feedback given to all parties involved." The hotel, for which there is a definite need in the Northern suburbs of Cape Town, will be a 4-star with 240 rooms. "Our team studied 52 international convention facilities prior to designing the convention facilities. The Velodrome will be able to accommodate 18 000 visitors upon completion compared to the current 8 000. It will be redeveloped to a world class venue. We've entered into an agreement with Big Concerts, South Africa's biggest live entertainment event organisers with more than 1 000 shows under its belt, to manage the facility. The Velodrome will also offer corporate companies and businesses the opportunity to hire hospitality facilities to host clients. In the future, the Velodrome will be able to host international sporting events and cater for large expos." According to Ehlers the synergies between the hotel, Velodrome and convention centre are enormous. "The athletic stadium will also be improved with the development of a High Performance Centre, aimed at the development of athletes and sport management and will include medical doctors specialising in sport, biokineticists, orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, sport psychologists and more. It will also focus on the identification of our future top athletes from previously disadvantaged communities and their development." The approach to the development of The Galleria has been holistic. It will incorporate everything from tourism to retail, residential to business, entertainment and sport. "Our macroeconomic predictions are that the cumulative GDP (Gross Domestic Product) contribution will be R3.8 billion by 2013, and R47.7 billion by 2024 (taken at 2009 values) for South Africa. The Western Cape Gross Geographic Product (GGP) will be R6 billion by 2020 and 26 000 job opportunities will have been created by 2014."

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