The future of Cape Town’s Good Hope Centre remains uncertain after the City placed the property on auction as part of its property disposal programme.
A church reportedly submitted the highest bid of R135 million, but Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the bidder allegedly failed to meet the City’s financial due diligence requirements. The Mayor said a mosque that submitted the second-highest bid is now being considered as the preferred purchaser, although the City says no final decision has been made while an independent review continues.
The announcement has reignited debate over whether the property should be sold at all. Housing advocates, opposition parties, and civil society groups argue that the centrally located site should instead be used for affordable housing.
The debate has been linked to the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Tafelberg property in Sea Point, which found that government must properly consider its housing obligations before selling well-located public land.
GOOD Party Secretary-General Brett Herron has called for the sale to be stopped, arguing that the Good Hope Centre precinct should remain in public ownership and be redeveloped as a mixed-use development that includes affordable housing.
The church that made the highest bid says it has not received formal notice that its offer was rejected and has requested clarification from the City.
The City maintains that the sale process is not complete and says due diligence procedures are standard. As the review continues, the Good Hope Centre has become a symbol of a wider debate about how Cape Town should use scarce public land to address its housing crisis.
Done by Liema Nyengule
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