Facts:
- Location: 4 Vredenberg Lane, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8001
- TUHF Product: Construction loan
- Original configuration: Heritage single story building that was virtually gutted due to neglect.
- Configuration upon completion: Eight-story building featuring design-led micro apartments of 35 residential units and one retail space that provides modern city living in a building that is unique in its aesthetics and architectural nuances. It delivers a hotel-like environment with laundrette, concierge, and café on site.
Situated in the heart of Cape Town City Centre just off Long Street, Uxolo on 4 Vredenberg Lane provides a unique combination of long-term rental and short-term lease in modern, design-led micro apartments.
The brainchild of Theo Kruger, director of Vredenberg Properties Ltd., Uxolo (meaning peace in Xhosa), has transformed the existing heritage building by maintaining the front façade while building eight new stories to deliver everything city living should be about.
The ground floor features a retail space, reception, lobby, and bicycle storage. The upper eight floors consist of 32 studio apartments ranging in size from 24 to 30 square metres, and three one-bedroom loft units spanning two floors. There is a generator and heat pump room as well as a communal laundry area for residents.
“Uxolo is close to Kloof Street and is within walking distance of public transport and all modern amenities. Many of our residents either walk, cycle, or Uber to work. These units cater for a younger demographic that is all about a minimalist lifestyle,” says Kruger.
He says the location instantly drew Vredenberg Properties into investing in the property.
“Cape Town is transforming into a world-class city. In these apartments, we perfectly capture the ability for people to live more densely, maximising the space, while also contributing to a safe environment as people are here all hours of the day.”
While much of the interior of the existing building needed to be gutted to make way for the eight-storey expansion and new services, there was real value in the street façade and some of the internal stone walls that date back more than 100-years and it was important for Kruger to keep those elements and replace with the rebuild.
“Admittedly, both council and heritage approval took some time to receive, but we got through it and are now sitting with a very successful product. TUHF also provided invaluable support on the development finance side and was involved throughout the construction process to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible,” he adds.
TUHF provided very hands-on support, especially when it came to the approval stage. It also appointed a project review consultant to work with the Vredenberg Properties team to get all documentation in place.
“As with many other sectors, the hard lockdown last year hit us really hard. At the time we had to part ways with the existing contractor and decided to take over the construction of the building ourselves and complete it. This provided us with an invaluable opportunity to diversify our skill set as it was quite a complicated build. We really learnt so much through this process and are very happy with the final product.”
Already 21 of the 35 available apartments have been transferred. Vredenberg Properties are holding back the remainder to sell at a later stage when the market strengthens with the units being rented in the meantime.
“This was our first project with TUHF, and it was a very positive experience. We will definitely work with them again in future,” he concludes.
