NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                    23 April 2001 

AGED FACILITIES IN SEA POINT GET A FACELIFT FROM REDEVELOPMENT OF GALLERIA CENTRE

Facilities for the aged in Sea Point will be greatly improved following the City of Cape Town Council’s approval of the redevelopment of the Galleria Shopping Centre in Regent Road.

The Council has approved an application by the developer for departures and removal of rezoning restrictions that will allow the addition of eight floors to the two-storeyed building.

When completed, the building will have retail on the ground floor, frail care and community facilities in the middle floors and retirement units on the upper floors. Adequate parking facilities are included in the proposal.

The developers have made provision for a community library.

In approving the application, the Council noted that the zoning regulations applied in the area had resulted in a high-rise, high-density environment compatible with the redevelopment proposal.

Existing policy recognises the area as a vibrant activity corridor in a part of the city considered suitable for high-intensity, mixed use development. It is also consistent with the policies and principles of the Metropolitan Spatial Development Framework (MSDF).

Agreement has been reached in principle that the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged (CPOA) will administer the retirement facility.

Councillor Brian Watkyns, Chairperson of the Council’s Planning and Environment portfolio, said objections to the proposal had been carefully considered and believes that the development as it has been approved will  help to sustain present values in a part of the city that is experiencing symptoms of urban decline.”

Councillor Watkyns added that the development would be to the benefit of Sea Point where a proper retirement home was long overdue.

Cllr Jean-Pierre Smith, the ward councillor in the area commented that the development would boost and upgrade the area especially with facilities such as a community library being made available to the public.

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