The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has handed over the Salt River Market site for the construction of 970 inner-city affordable housing units by developer Communicare.

Salt River Market is among four inner-city sites where construction is set to begin this year on more than 3 000 affordable units in total, including more than 1 500 social housing rental apartments.

The other sites are Newmarket Street (Foreshore), Pickwick Street (Salt River) and Fruit & Veg (Zonnebloem, central business district (CBD)).

CoCT has, since 2021, released land set to yield around 5 000 affordable units under the Mayoral Priority Programme to accelerate land release for affordable housing.

“The completed Salt River Market development provides affordable rental options to households earning up to approximately R34 400 per month,” says CoCT Human Settlements MMC Carl Pophaim.

“It will also deliver rentals ranging from approximately R700 to R10 000 per month across unit types, making it affordable for Cape Town families.”

The handover of Salt River Market to the developer follows a multiyear social facilitation process to resolve unlawful occupation at the site.

This included the relocation of 70 informal households to upgraded accommodation in the Maitland area in May, as well as the previous resolution of commercial traders occupying the site.

“Communicare plans to develop the ground-floor as retail, [and to add] a piazza, day care and a sports field to create a vibrant public realm,” notes Communicare chairperson Mark van Wyk.

“A total of 300 social housing apartments will be added in seven storeys above ground, and 670 affordable housing apartments in nine storeys.

“The Salt River Hall will also be restored and preserved for its heritage value.

“Honouring the origins of the market, our development plans include making provision for the four long-standing fresh produce traders to continue to operate at the Salt River Market,” adds Van Wyk.

“The historic Salt River Market is one of our most exciting inner-city affordable housing projects, and we are pleased to reach the point of handover,” notes Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

“These are the visible results of our accelerated land release programme taking shape, creating thousands of affordable housing opportunities for Cape Town families in the CBD and other well-located parts of our city.

“This is how we are making under-used public assets work for Capetonians, with a broader land release pipeline of over 12 000 affordable housing units in various well-located parts of the metro.”

These developments follow a public‑private partnership model, with the city contributing land at a 90% discount, which adds up to a roughly R95-million subsidy.