Cape Town CBD

Cape Town CBD (sometimes referred to as Cape Town Central City or City Center) is the central business district of Cape Town, and the economic center of the city.^[1]

The CBD sits beneath Table Mountain, and alongside the Port of Cape Town. It is fed directly by both major metropolitan highways, namely the M3 and M5, via links with two national highways - the N1 and N2.

Being the economic center of the city, the CBD houses the headquarters of numerous large South African and multinational corporations.^[2]

The CBD is also home to numerous tourist attractions and local amenities. The area is also traveled through in order to get from the freeways into the V&A Waterfront, and to approach Table Mountain from the front.

Unlike many other CBDs in metropolitan areas across South Africa, Cape Town CBD is considered clean and safe, and has been well-maintained in terms of infrastructure. Numerous public-private partnerships exist to keep the CBD a desirable place to be, including the Cape Town Partnership and Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID).^[2]

In recent years, billions of rands of foreign investment has flowed into Cape Town CBD, and numerous businesses have moved their headquarters from other South African CBDs into Cape Town's. The CBD is also a major destination for tourists, and it had its busiest year for tourism to date in 2024.^[2]

Geography

Cape Town CBD is in the City Bowl region of the city, positioned between Port of Cape Town and Table Mountain to the east and west, and between De Waterkant and Bo-Kaap in the north, and District Six to the south.

The CBD sits roughly between Buitengracht Street on its northern border, and Buitenkant Street on its southern end. Orange Street runs along the CBD's western side, forming a border between it and Gardens. To the CBD's west is Nelson Mandela Boulevard.

Cape Town CBD is approximately 2 km away from the V&A Waterfront, 20 km from the Cape Town International Airport, 10 km from the Century City commercial node, and 8 km from the popular beaches along the coastline of Camps Bay.

Transit

The CBD is served by the MyCiTi bus rapid transit system, which has 21 stations, the busiest of which are Civic Center, Adderley, Riebeek, Thibault Square, Darling, Groote Kerk, Castle, and Strand. Approximately 2.62 million people boarded MyCiTi buses in the CBD in 2022.^[3]

Metrorail trains terminate at Cape Town Station (the city's largest station), and the CBD also has metered taxis as a transit option. Numerous major roads feed the CBD, including the M3 and M5 freeways (via the N1 and N2 national highways), Kloof Nek Road, Beach Road, and the M4.

Main roads traversing the city include Adderley, Heerengracht, Buitengracht, Buitenkant, Strand, Longmarket Roeland, Darling, Riebeek, Newmarket, Kloof, Long, Wale, and Bree Streets.

There are an estimated 7,500 public parking spaces in the CBD, some of which are in access-controlled buildings, while others are free and on the roadside or on surface lots.^[3]

Commerce

Situated in Cape Town CBD are the headquarters and regional offices of many major South African and foreign companies, including Standard Bank, Investec, First National Bank, Naspers, ENSafrica, KPMG, Cape Union Mart, Clicks, TFG Limited, Sweepsouth, Media24, Takealot, Truworths, Van Der Merwe Miszewski Architects, and Woolworths.

Numerous large hotels are situated throughout the CBD, serving Cape Town's tourists and business visitors. These include the Southern Sun Cape Sun, the Westin Cape Town, Mandela Rhodes Place, The Capital 15 On Orange, the Holiday Inn Express Cape Town City Centre, Park Inn, The Rockefeller Hotel & Residences, Southern Sun The Cullinan, the Radisson Cape Town Foreshore, the Hyatt Regency, the Taj Cape Town, and the Capetonian.

The top 10 sectors of business in the CBD are, in descending order, retail; legal; medical; finance and banking; food; architecture and engineering; coffeehouses; tech; communications; and general corporates.^[3]

As of 2022, there were 3,116 entities doing business in the CBD alone. 1,243 of those were retail and entertainment entities, including bakeries, spas, art galleries, bookstores, electronics retailers, printing shops, restaurants, specialty stores, sporting goods stores, clothing stores, cafes, and grocery stores. In the same year, the CBD was home to 19 coworking spaces, around 170 finance and banking firms, around 700 law firms, around 250 medical practices, and around 100 architecture and engineering firms.^[3]

The CBD has just over 1 million square meters of commercial space, and around 270,000 square meters of retail space. Vacancy rates are low, with fourth quarter 2022 rates at 13.3% and 4.5% respectively. Average rental costs for office space are between approximately R100 and R200 per square meter, depending on the grade, and the CBD holds around 40% of the City of Cape Town's total office space.^[3]

Adderley Street was one of the first major roads to be built in the CBD, and remains as the main street of the suburb. Partway down the street, in the Foreshore area, Adderley becomes Heerengracht Street - the old main street in the CBD.

The 15 tallest buildings in Cape Town are located within the CBD area. The tallest is Portside Tower, which is located on Buitengracht Street and serves as the headquarters for major South African finance and investment corporation FNB, and its subsidiary, RMB.

The CBD is also home to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) - a major conference venue for the African continent. The Convention Center is linked to the V&A Waterfront (specifically around the One & Only Hotel) by a manmade river.

Housing

Housing within the CBD is predominantly made up of apartments of various sizes. The density in the CBD is one of the highest among Cape Town's suburbs. Major residential developments in the CBD include One Thibault, The Rockefeller at Harbor Place, 16 On Bree, Icon, St Martini Gardens, The Adderley, The Square, The Heriot, Stonehill Place, the Onyx, and Foreshore Place. The CCID stated that the median price for sectional title properties in the CBD in 2022 was R1.47 million.^[3]

Cape Town residents wanting to stay in detached homes close to the CBD have options in the surrounding, predominantly residential areas of Gardens, Tamboerskloof, Oranjezicht, Higgovale, District Six, and Bo Kaap, as well as mixed-use suburbs like Sea Point and De Waterkant. A number of upmarket apartment buildings are located close to the CBD, in the suburb of Green Point.

In September 2024, the City of Cape Town proposed a new CBD spatial plan (which it opened for public comment), and stated that it expects up to 50,000 new CBD residents by 2040. The municipality is focusing on car-less streets that are dedicated to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, improved public transit, access to affordable housing, maintaining mixed-use spaces, preserving heritage areas, and adding additional public spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy. The City is aiming to make the CBD a more people-centered environment, and less car-focused, in support of potentially developing a car-free CBD.^[4]

Leisure

Cape Town CBD is home to numerous well-known sightseeing, tourist, food, and leisure spots for locals. These include the Iziko South African Museum, the Iziko Planetarium, the South African National Gallery, The Cape Gallery, and the Castle of Good Hope.^[5]

Major theaters located in the CBD including the large format Artscape and the smaller District Six Homecoming Centre (formerly the Fugard).^[6]

Beside the Houses of Parliament in the CBD sits The Company's Garden, which is the oldest garden in South Africa, and a national heritage site.

Governance

Cape Town CBD is home to both the Parliament of South Africa and the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, as well as the Civic Center, which houses the municipal government (City Council) and public servants for the city. The area is also home to Cape Town City Hall, which used to house the offices of the City of Cape Town (the municipal government).

Just next to the CBD, in Gardens, sits Leeuwenhof, the official residence of the Premier of the Western Cape. Over 23,000 government employees work in the CBD, and numerous government agencies, as well as 5 of South Africa's political parties, have offices in the area.^[3]

The CBD is represented by ward councilors Francine Higham of the Democratic Alliance (DA) for Ward 77, and Ian McMahon of the DA for Ward 115.^[7]

Gallery

Images of Cape Town CBD

Road leading into Cape Town CBD
The CBD (behind), with De Waterkant in the middle, and Strand Street in the foreground
High-rise buildings in the middle of the CBD
Lower Loop Street, opposite the entrance to the Cape Town International Convention Centre
The Westin Cape Town hotel next to the aerial freeway leading into the CBD
The border of the CBD and the V&A Waterfront, with Signal Hill in the background
Constructed in 2014, Portside Tower is the tallest building in the CBD, at 32 floors
Headquarters of Naspers, on the eastern border of the CBD
The Company's Garden, a large public park in the CBD
The main building of the Parliament of South Africa