Bantry Bay’s R115m apartments
A wealthy Dubai family, planning to turn the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay into exclusive apartments, are cashing in before renovations have even begun.
|||Cape Town - A wealthy Dubai family planning to turn the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, into exclusive apartments – costing up to a hefty R115-million each – are cashing in before renovations have even begun.
Local estate agent Pam Golding Properties is exclusively marketing the development, called Aurum, which comprises 23 apartments with coveted ocean views.
Basil Moraitis, area manager for Pam Golding’s Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl office, said on Friday they had already sold 10 of the apartments on Victoria Road. He said the Darvesh family, owners of the property, would keep the top floor which would be turned into a four-bedroom 530m² penthouse. Moraitis said they had marketed the apartments to their database of wealthy local and international buyers.
It would be marketed to the public only next week and there was already interest from their “top-end buyers”.
“We have three people flying in this weekend. One is from Johannesburg,” said Moraitis.
Two of the “presidential residences” costing between R67m and R115m per unit had been sold. A further eight luxury apartments priced between R17.5m and R70m had also been sold. “A further seven apartments have been reserved,” said Moraitis.
“Internal construction will start in mid-June and occupation will take place next September.”
Moraitis said Aurum would doubtless push up property prices even higher in Bantry Bay and its surrounds.
“It’s already establishing benchmarks in the area. It shows confidence that buyers have in the Atlantic Seaboard.
“There’s no more land here for development. There’s this small strip of land between the sea and mountain with little supply and high demand.
“It’s the jewel in the crown of South African property.
“We have a list of people waiting for properties for sale in this area. We don’t need to advertise. We go to our database of people who are interested and show them what we have on offer.”
The Dubai family runs Da’Realty which “undertakes residential, commercial and industrial developments”.
Da’Realty is a subsidiary of the 107-year-old “privately owned, billion-dollar global” Darvesh empire named after the family that owns it. The company said in a statement via local publicists they bought the Ambassador for the views.
“Ahsan Hassan Darvesh, president of the global conglomerate, bought the hotel after a lengthy stay during which he realised the potential of the spectacular cliff-face site with the Atlantic Ocean undulating below and Lion’s Head gazing down upon it,” they said.
They added that Aurum’s presidential apartments would be “expansive, exemplary and bathed in natural light”.
Weekend Argus
yazeed.kamaldien@inl.co.za