1 GM SA FOUNDATION HOUSING PROGRESS REPORT First quarter of 2014 1. GENERAL HOUSING ISSUES There were a large and growing number of community protests concerning housing and services within the NMB Metro and elsewhere in the E Cape. Dezzo Holdings, a Durban based company, was reported to have been appointed by the NMB Metro to prepare a development plan for some 3 500 new self-help RDP houses for a 44ha piece of land in Walmer which the NMB had purchased for R40 million. All the beneficiaries will apparently be drawn from Gqebera (Walmer Township). The Minister of the National Department of Human Settlements has been conspicuously absent from the public domain during the quarter. 2. GENERAL HOUSING ISSUES INVOLVING THE FOUNDATION The General Manager took part in two telephone conferences with John Papagni, one of the five delegates from the USA based National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) with whom contact had been made at the SA Housing Foundation conference in 2013. A draft article on SA s housing challenges written by Mr Papagni was discussed at length, and a copy of the Jan/Feb edition of the journal entitled Housing and Community Development containing the final article has been delivered to the Foundation s office. John Hopkins, the CEO of the SA Housing Foundation, is anxious for the Foundation to participate in the 2014 international Housing Conference because of the high quality of the Foundation s exhibit and presentation at last year s conference. However, apart from the USA contact (see previous paragraph), there has been little reaction and the Foundation will therefore not be participating. Messrs Del Monte and Matlock met with the senior management of Remax Bay to discuss the influence of possible new developments (such as Bay West, Fairview, the Walmer area, Parsonsvlei, North End, inner city infill and Coega) on housing growth within NMB. The General Manager met with Willie Els, the national CEO of Inframax, to share experiences and ideas on housing development. Francis Wilson, the co-founder (with Mamphela Ramphele) of the Carnegie Institute on Poverty, requested the General Manager to make a full day presentation on housing and urban development to the Worcester
2 Reconciliation Committee. Mr Matlock visited Worcester to meet the Committee, the Mayor and a number of councillors and officials and was driven through the various residential areas. A very well received presentation followed two weeks later at a retreat near Malmesbury. Messrs Del Monte and Matlock met with members of GM s Shop Stewards Council and GM s HR Department to discuss the range of types of affordable housing and options for securing them. The General Manager attended one meeting of The Home Market during the quarter as a Director of THM. 3. WALMER LINK PROJECT 3.1 Apartments for Rental The 347 apartments at Walmer Link are fully let and are under the management of the Imizi Housing Utility. Imizi are dealing effectively with those tenants who constantly challenge the rules and regulations associated with social housing. Model documentation for this Social Housing component of the project is being prepared (see item 9 below). 3.2 Houses for Sale 128 of the 430 FLISP houses have been built and sold, with another 74 units at various stages of construction which are currently being sold and registered. There is strong demand for the FLISP houses given their excellent specification and pricing. No housing units are being produced elsewhere in NMB which are affordable for those earning below R15 000. Affordable housing being constructed at Bridgemeade starts at R411 000, which is some R150 000 more than an equivalent FLISP unit at Walmer Link. Model documentation for this FLISP component of the project is being prepared, with a broad framework having been completed (see item 9 below). 4. FAIRVIEW LINK PROJECT 368 Apartments for Rental The Fairview Link project is 75% complete and 40 units have been tenanted. Despite a delay of 2 months caused by the inability of Munelec to provide power in accordance with the agreed construction programme, the contractor will complete the contract in September 2014 for the completion of tenanting in October 2014 as planned. 5. WILLOWDENE PROJECT - 400 Apartments for Rental
3 In January 2014, the SHRA (Social Housing Regulatory Authority) awarded Willowdene a 2013/2014 SHIP 4B Restructuring Capital Grant. This RCG is for R50 million and is acting as a catalyst for the approvals of all remaining funding applications. The Province and NHFC are currently assessing applications for the provincial top-up subsidies (R40 million) and debt funding (R30 million). A favourable Record of Decision in terms of the National Environmental Management Act is in place. The Rezoning Application will be approved by the NMB Council on the 14 th April, despite objections by the Fairview Residents Association. The period for appeals will expire on the 12 th May. The Home Market plans to hand over the site to Civil Services and Building Contractors by the end of 2014. 6. OTHER HOUSING PROJECT INVESTIGATIONS 6.1 Probable Project: MOUNT CROIX (PE) 250 rental units The NMBM is still dealing with the Rezoning Application. The period for objections expired in September 2013 and an item is expected to appear before Council in April or May this year. Many of the Mount Croix residents are against the proposed development and are expected to appeal. The right to appeal may however fall away, after a landmark case in Cape Town where it was found unconstitutional to appeal to a provincial authority. Clarity still has to be obtained in this regard. In the unlikely event that there is no appeal against the proposed development, The Home Market will prepare funding applications during the second half of 2014. 6.2 Possible Project: OCEANVIEW (Jeffreys Bay) 300 rental units The Kouga Municipality resolved at a Council meeting in September 2013 to place this project on hold until their land disposal processes have been resolved. The Provincial DoHS has been attempting to interact with the Council in this regard. A number of Council meetings have been postponed but a provincial representative is scheduled to address Council in April 2014. Hopefully the call for expressions of interest will take place soon. The Home Market, if awarded the land for social housing development, will prepare funding applications in the second half of 2014 or the first half of 2015. 6.3 Probable Project: LOWER BAAKENS (PE) 650 rental units This project continues to be bogged down by an array of studies, precinct plans, overall environmental scans and impact assessments. Pierre Voges, the CEO of the MBDA (Mandela Bay Development Agency), has however started showing interest in social housing. He recently
4 requested the Foundation for introductions to key persons and projects in Amsterdam to coincide with a trip he was planning. These engagements were apparently positive and the MBDA intends to start the process of encouraging social housing in their mandate area in general and in the Lower Baakens in particular. 6.4 Possible Project: TRANSNET LAND (Uitenhage) The Foundation is currently investigating the potential for a large, wellsituated and easily developable piece of vacant land currently owned by Transnet to be used for a mixed use housing development in Uitenhage. Attempts to locate studies dealing with asbestos contamination of portions of the land have been unsuccessful until recently. The UDDI (Uitenhage Despatch Development Initiative) has now given the consultants (Jeffares & Green) permission to make the report available to the Foundation. An overall Framework Plan, illustrating the potential yield for FLISP, SH and commercial housing units in the area, is being prepared for discussion with Transnet, NMBM and UDDI. 6.5 Possible Project: FAIRVIEW INTEGRATED PROJECT (PE) 84 ha An integrated development plan consisting of 15 ha for Social Housing and 69 ha for both FLISP and RDP housing was submitted to Province during 2013. This was accompanied by a joint proposal from IMIZI, The Home Market and Metroplan for the planning, development and management of Social Housing and Gap Housing. This led to a call by the Provincial DoHS for Expressions of Interest for the development of Social Housing. The Home Market, IMIZI and Metroplan submitted a comprehensive proposal on time. Subsequent informal discussions with the Province indicate that preferred suppliers have been shortlisted and terms of reference are being prepared. No formal communications have however been received as yet. 6.6 Possible Project: WALMER MULTI-PURPOSE SITE The Foundation is exploring the possibility of creating a multi-functional education and social housing complex on the primary school site at Walmer Link, which is currently being used as a sports field. The rationale for bringing together schooling and housing in one building is to create the space for a synergy between them. There are clear mutual benefits for the School and Social Housing in sharing certain facilities (playgrounds, library, tuck shop, etc) and re-organising their daily operations in terms of their separate core competencies of education and facilities management. A desk-top study and web-search has been undertaken and two similar projects in the Amsterdam have been visited. A brainstorming session was held in February with Foundation education and housing project managers, IMIZI, The Home Market and NMBM representatives. There is overall enthusiastic support for the project.
5 A meeting was also held with Ms Koyana of the East Cape DoHS. She also supports the concept and has offered to arrange a meeting with other DoHS and Department of Education officials. 7. RESEARCH The NMBM is not consistently collecting refuse bags or cutting the grass on verges at Walmer Link, despite numerous requests and complaints. This is negatively affecting the general appearance of the area. New home-owners have approached The Home Market to discuss these problems and the possibility of introducing security measures. Research into the establishment of a Special Rates Zone that would allow for the provision of these and other top-up services is being undertaken. 8. REPLICATION AND DISSEMINATION The production of a video illustrating the construction, marketing and sales components of the Walmer Link Houses for Sale project has commenced. This video is intended for marketing purposes (i.e. targeting potential beneficiaries) as well as for educational purposes (i.e. targeting potential developers, government departments, banks, NHFC, educational institutions, etc). Tsunami Studios has been appointed and the cost will be covered by the Impumelelo Award prize money of R50 000. A framework for the model documentation of the overall Walmer Link Houses for Sale and FLISP project is complete. The framework covers every phase of the development (from planning and design to delivery) for each component of the development (land, services, target market, house, subsidy and debt finance). The intention is also to generate educational material and to host 2 or 3 day master classes. A meeting with representatives of the NMMU s Department of Human Settlements has been arranged to gauge their interest and obtain their advice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~