Located on the popular Atlantic Seaboard, the Ritz Hotel Cape Town is believed to have been sold for a whopping R350 million to a “Dutch company”.
It is believed the deal was brokered by a local estate agency and that the buyer (or consortium) is said to be going to continue with the renovations of the building which were half-way completed before drama hit it in 2018.
Atlantic Seabord agents are abuzz with the news, an open secret they say, however no one was willing to absolutely confirm or deny it on record … but they had all heard it was sold… and not by those I interviewed.
However, a stop-over at the once fashionable, fabulous and desirable Ritz Hotel Cape Town yesterday, had it locked up and looking anything but glamourous.
A security guard came to ask me what I was doing there. “I heard it’s been sold.” He replied: “Don’t believe everything you’ve been told… there are always a lot of stories about this building and none come true.”
It is easy to see why he may feel a bit cynical. Rumours have been swirling since Nicky van der Walt and his company in 2018 soft launched the hotel with what was at the time rumoured to have been a R120 million rejuvenation.
But its planned reopening was ultimately unsuccessful when the Cape Town High Court ordered Van de Walt’s management company to vacate the building in July 2018, effectively halting the reopening.
At the time it was reported that the Cape Town High Court ruled Van de Walt’s management company had displayed “chutzpah of the first order” by occupying the Sea Point hotel since March 2017 without paying a cent to Ritz Plaza‚ which owned the property.
Yesterday the derelict 23-storey Ritz Hotel, full of dust and some autumn leaves on the once welcoming entrance mat and a sign with no lights to welcome a visitor, stood somewhat frazzled in the grey winter skies. The security guard assured me that no one has been living in the building, a big feat given how empty buildings are often illegally occupied in a city that has an affordable housing crisis.
Calls to the legal team dealing with the building remained unanswered and it has been hard to get a difinitive yes about the sale.
Some agents on Cape Town’s exclusive Atlantic Seabiard say its a done deal, saying it would elevate the area – once the full renovations were done – and of course add to the already hefty price tag for apartments in Sea Point. At present “you can forget about” getting a two-bed of even 75m2 – even without parking – for anything under R3m, they say.
It was previosly rumoured that Kasada, an independent real estate private equity platform dedicated to the hospitality industry in Africa, which acquired the former Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence and the prestigious Cape Grace Hotel, had been interested, but whether they were the possible buyers has not yet been made public.
One thing is for sure, if The Ritz finally got its glitz back it would elevate that part of Sea Point – already on its way up with upgrades to developments such as the Adelphi Centre which is set to get a Woolworths shortly – to new heights.
We will be following this closely.
