westlake

In 1999, Rabie and partner Cavcor initiated a joint venture with the Cape Province to unlock the potential of the 95-hectare Westlake Estate at the southern end of the Constantia Valley, Cape Town. At this stage, Westlake was a derelict tract of state-owned land occupied by an informal settlement of several thousand people and various run-down or under-used government buildings. Today it is a model mixed-use development, comprising commercial, industrial, residential, retail and educational components.

Prestigious office parks, a well-laid out light industrial park, boutique shopping centres and restaurants, a social housing village where squatters were rehoused, an upmarket residential sector, a prestigious private school and the new United States consulate, all fit neatly into this spacious and well-landscaped jigsaw puzzle.

In recognition of this remarkable transformation, Rabcav – a partnership between Rabie Property Group and Cavcor – was awarded both the inaugural FIABCI René Frank Habitat Award by the International Real Estate Federation, and the 2003 South African Property Owners Association Green Spiral Award for its “contribution to Society and the Environment.”

The success of Westlake has become a blueprint for public private partnerships in the property sector. During the highly complex rezoning process, Rabcav played the crucial role of development facilitator and set up various community forums to achieve consensus from all the affected parties and stakeholders. In the process, we helped turn a liability into a substantial asset and clearly established how effective the principle of cross-subsidization can be in addressing socio-economic imbalances.