Century City, Cape Town
Encyclopedia
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
suburb of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
that was constructed as a mixed use development including entertainment, residential, retail and office components. Development began under Monex Development in 1997 and continues under the new owners, Rabie Property Group. Investment thus far exceeds ZAR10 billion. It is located 10 km to the north-east of central Cape Town along the N1
N1 (South Africa)
The N1 is a South African National Route, running from Cape Town to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It is also the main road link between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road....
motorway and is traversed by numerous waterways, wetlands and canals.
Criticism
During initial building phases, Century City's two original developments - Ratanga Junction theme park and Canal WalkCanal Walk
Canal Walk is a shopping centre in Cape Town, South Africa, that opened in 2000 and was built around a series of canals. It has a total retail area of...
shopping centre - were thought to be white elephants. Ratanga has run into many monetary issues, however due to downsizing, off-season closures and the addition of year-round conference and entertainment facilities, it has turned profitable. The then-125 000m² Canal Walk
Canal Walk
Canal Walk is a shopping centre in Cape Town, South Africa, that opened in 2000 and was built around a series of canals. It has a total retail area of...
mall has exceeded expectations, resulting in a recent expansion to 141 000m² in order to meet demand. There were concerns that Century City would cause decentralisation from the Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
central business district, but thanks to the city improvement district (CID) and urban renewal efforts spearheaded by the Cape Town Partnership (CTP), this has not happened. This development thus remains another commercial node in the Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
metropolitan area while the city centre remains vibrant.
Developmental Components
Canal WalkCanal Walk
Canal Walk is a shopping centre in Cape Town, South Africa, that opened in 2000 and was built around a series of canals. It has a total retail area of...
was the largest shopping mall in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the Southern Hemisphere in lettable area when it was opened in December 2000. Currently, the 141 000m² mall contains over 400 stores, 20 movie theatres, many restaurants and bars and an entertainment section. Architecturally, it was designed with the "Cape Venetian" style in mind. Two twin office towers - the Canal Walk Towers - rest atop of the mall.
Adjacent to the mall are two 11-storey towers called the Crystal Towers that opened at the end of 2009. It is the largest development in the precinct after Canal Walk itself. The R750 million development consists of Century City's first 5-star hotel with 180 rooms, as well as 91 luxury apartments and an office block.
Nearby is the 204-room StayEasy by Southern Sun hotel. It was the first hotel in the precinct when it opened in early 2001.
KnightsBridge is another R275 million residential development adjacent to Canal Walk, with 15 floors of apartments in two towers, with penthouses located in a 12-storey high bridge across the canal adjoining the two towers. Construction was completed in late 2006.
The Colosseum is a mixed-use R300 million development, including ground-floor cafe's, offices and a 70-room four-star hotel. Construction was completed in January 2007.
Villa Italia and The Oasis are two multi-storey, multi-building residential developments, the latter catering to the upmarket retirement community.
The Island Club was completed in 2005 and is a residential development located around a series of islands and canals opposite Canal Walk, and includes a small 23-room four-star hotel.
Century Gate and The Estuaries are two additional commercial developments, collectively costing R500 million.
Century View and the Bougain Villas are two low-density residential developments.
The Manhattan is a 15-floor luxury apartment tower that was completed at the end of 2008, consisting of a sectional-title hotel with 30 suites and residential apartments.
Numerous other corporate offices are located in and around Century City - especially along the N1
N1 (South Africa)
The N1 is a South African National Route, running from Cape Town to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It is also the main road link between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road....
motorway. Mercedes-Benz and Daimler/Crysler/Jeep have lifestyle centres, which have recently opened adjacent to Canal Walk
Canal Walk
Canal Walk is a shopping centre in Cape Town, South Africa, that opened in 2000 and was built around a series of canals. It has a total retail area of...
. Should they be a success, similar such lifestyle centres will be open worldwide. Similarly, BMW and Porsche both have buildings in the precinct too.
In 2009 Century City has been voted SA's best middle class suburb by Finweek Magazine.
Conservation
Built on a wetland area, Century City needed to comply with conservation measures. Intaka Island is a 16 hectare wetland area within the development. The wetland naturally cleans the water in the canals and provides a green lung in an otherwise high-density development.Economy
Spur Corporation has its head office in Century City.The area has a vibrant community and social events, many of which can be found on the site CenturyCityLiving.co.za.