Retail business in the Cape Town CBD is reporting a steady stabilisation in terms of confidence and economic performances, with the rates of those reporting declines in activity dropping.
This was revealed at the Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s (CCID) AGM held last night (Monday 10 November 2014) at the Artscape Theatre Complex.
According to the CCID chairperson, Rob Kane, the confidence has been revealed in the bi-annual retail opinion surveys that the CCID conducts across a representative sample of retailers in the Cape Town Central City.
“For example, our surveys showed that in July 2009, 49% of businesses reported a decline in business, but by May this year we saw that drop to 24%,” says Kane. “Comparatively, we’ve also seen the growth in business rise from 8.5% as reported in July 2009 to 29% in May 2014.”
A recent survey also asked retailers what they wanted to see more of in the CBD that would complement their own offerings. Says Kane: “While 32% of retailers felt the mix was right as it is, it is interesting to note that there was a request for more restaurants (14%) and the addition of movie theatres (12%) – there are currently none of the latter in the CBD.”
Says Tasso Evangelinos, chief operating officer of the CCID: “These two categories both fall under the theme of ‘entertainment’ – offerings that would definitely help to increase footfall into the CBD, and which could also quite possibly extend the profile of our nighttime, afterhours and weekend economies towards being more family and child friendly.”
This corresponded in a large part with the results of the CCID’s recent Online Residential Survey, in which residents who participated were also asked what kinds of additional retail opportunities they would welcome in the CBD, the top three being:
- More restaurants.
- Retail that stays open for longer hours (ie beyond 17h00).
- More delicatessen-type food stores.
“In other words,” notes Kane, “when people ask us if there are still opportunities for business growth in the Cape Town Central City, our research supplies us with the evidence to not only say a resounding ‘Yes!’ but also with the ability to point entrepreneurs in the right directions.”
With the CCID moving into its 15th year in operation in 2015 as well as into its next five-year implementation plan with the City of Cape Town (starting 1 July 2015), the new year will also see it moving into its own premises, after having spent many years sharing offices with the Cape Town Partnership.
Says Kane: “We’re very excited about the next five years, particularly if you look back at how the Central City has grown in just the past five. Of course, with growth comes change – which is obviously a good thing as you can’t have the one without the other.
“From the CCID perspective, for example, our organisation has grown over the past four years alone from a fulltime team of 12 to 20.”
Also on a growth path is the CBD’s Foreshore area, which, in just two years from now, will benefit from investment and infrastructural development of over R2 billion.
“It’s one of the reasons we chose to have our AGM here at Artscape,” notes Evangelinos, “to acknowledge that we are in the heart of an area that is already in the midst of a complete revitalisation just with the CTICC extension and the development of the new Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital.”
Fast facts about the Cape Town CBD
- The overall property value has risen from R6.127 billion in 2005 to R23.692bn today – a percentage increase of close to 400%.
- The rise of the residential sector alone has doubled in just two years in terms of annual sales: 2011 saw a total of R115 million in sales, while 2013 saw this increase to R249m, with well-priced properties now staying on the market for an average of 14 days.
- The CBD enjoys 661 events (close to two a day) attended by more than 1.35 million people annually.
- The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) contributed R3bn to the South African GDP in the 2012/13 financial year.
- The CBD’s visitor economy supports 4 600 hotel beds across 57 establishments in the area.
- There is retail space of close to 269 000m2, which, according to the CCID’s most recent survey conducted within the past year, stood at a 94% occupancy rate.
A day in the life of the CCID
The following figures outline the average work conducted by each of the four departments of the CCID in just one 24-hour cycle.
Each day the Safety & Security department:
- Issues 52 fines totalling R21 721.
- Makes 6 arrests together with its law enforcement partners.
- Renders public assistance 5 times.
- Issues 79 warnings.
- Attends 1 to 2 meetings with its law enforcement partners.
- Undertakes 159 crime prevention initiatives.
Additionally, the team attends to 1 illegal trading offence every 4 days.
Each day the Urban Management department:
- Cleans 42 municipal and storm water drains, removing 15kg.
- Removes 2.8kg of butts from 270 CCID cigarette bins.
- Baits 5 rodent bait boxes.
- Undertakes 7 road maintenance repairs.
- Removes 1 ton of waste to landfill.
- Removes 8 graffiti incidents.
- Identifies 13 illegal posters.
- Removes 26 sets of strings & stickers.
- Visits 4 stakeholders.
- Meets with City of Cape Town partners.
Each day the Social Development department:
- Assists 1 child or adult to a facility.
- Distributes 10 care bags or pairs of shoes.
- Interacts with clients on average 15 to 20 times.
Additionally, the team attends 1 meeting every third day and secures donations from stakeholders every five days.
Each day the Communications department:
- Distributes 822 copies of City Views.
- Distributes 176 copies of the CCID’s other publications.
- Distributes 96 Smart Smoker pouches.
- Distributes 214 items of campaign collateral.
- Engages with social media 18 times.
- Responds to 1 media enquiry & 4 public enquires.
- Produces 1 press release.
- Generates media exposure of R27 107.
For more information about the work of the CCID, please see our 2014 Annual Report.
Or contact Carola Koblitz, CCID Communications manager, on 021 286 0830 or carola@capetownccid.org.
About the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID)
A public-private partnership, the CCID was established in 2000 by local property owners with a vision to see the Cape Town CBD rise from the “crime and grime” scenario it had fallen into, to once again become a safe, clean, caring urban environment that promotes investment into the CBD through it’s “open for business” messaging. The first of its kind in South Africa, the CCID is today one of 32 city improvement districts (CIDs) operational in the Cape Town metropole and provides complementary, top-up urban management services, within a specific geographic area, to those rendered by its partners in the Cape Town CBD, namely the City of Cape Town and the South African Police Service (SAPS).