Global tech giant Amazon has been listed as the anchor tenant for a new R4.5 billion development in Cape Town.
According to BusinessInsider, Amazon intends using the site as its new African base of operations. Amazon currently occupies offices in central Cape Town.
The River Club Development, which will feature offices, retailers, restaurants, and apartments on a 15-hectare parcel of land, has been approved by the City of Cape Town after years of objections by environmental activists and heritage protection organisations.
According to Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust, which owns the River Club golf course and conference centre in Observatory, almost 60 000 square metres will be used as office space, with Amazon as the anchor tenant. Mixed-use space for retailers, a 200-room hotel, gym, restaurants, and conference facilities will also form part of the development.
BusinessInsider reports that Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust, which bought the land from state-owned rail and port authority Transnet in 2015, has also allocated 31 900 square metres for residential units.
Environmental activists have opposed the development on the floodplain between the Black and Liesbeek Rivers, saying it will damage the ecosystem and increase the risk of flooding in adjacent properties.
Objections have also been raised on heritage grounds, with objectors wanting the site protected given its significance as the location of the first clash between their forebears and settlers from Europe.
BusinessInsider reports that a two-year provisional protection granted to Heritage Western Cape lapsed in 2020.