Stellenbosch Municipality’s latest investment – a five-story, soon-to-be refurbished office building – will save municipal taxpayers’ money within the next few years.
This is according to Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for the municipality, via email correspondence with MatieMedia.
Stellenbosch Municipality recently purchased a new office block on the corner of Plein Street and Ryneveld Street in the town’s central business district, according to Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for the municipality. PHOTO: Téa Bell
Prior to purchasing the building, the municipality rented out several office spaces across central Stellenbosch, stated Grobbelaar.
“The municipality decided to buy the building rather than continue the renting of various [offices],” he said.
Purchasing the new building will “greatly reduce our rental expenditure, saving [the municipality] and the taxpayer money in the long run”, stated Grobbelaar. The municipality expects the cost of the building and the amount spent on its refurbishment to be “recuperate[ed] within 10 years”, he added.
The new office building, situated on the corner of Plein Street and Ryneveld Street, was purchased by the municipality in the 2019/2020 financial year, said Grobbelaar.
The municipality budgeted R14 million for the new office building’s refurbishment, according to Stellenbosch Municipality’s medium term revenue and expenditure framework for the period between 2021 and 2024.
It is unclear how much the property was purchased for in the 2019/2020 financial year but the municipality’s December 2019 quarterly budget monitoring report stated that “a request for additional funding of R35 million has been submitted to the Financial Services Directorate for the purchase of a building to be utilised as office space”.
Grobbelaar did not confirm the total cost of purchasing and refurbishing the building, but he told MatieMedia that “details on the final cost [of the building] will be shared once the project is entirely completed”.
Stellenbosch’s new municipal offices are currently being refurbished and should be fully completed by December, said Grant Mulder, general foreman of Bambana Management Services, the company awarded the tender for the building’s internal refurbishment. PHOTO: Tim Malinzi
Expected completion
It is expected to reach full completion by about mid-December, said Grant Mulder, general foreman of Bambana Management Services, the company awarded the tender for the building’s internal refurbishment.
The ground-floor level should be completed and operational in November or December, added Grobbelaar.
An insider look
The ground-floor of the building was demolished to make room for a new customer service centre, said Tshana Goosen, an architect at MAD Architects, the firm in charge of the new municipal building’s renovation.
The customer service centre “will see [Stellenbosch] residents coming to a central location to do business with the municipality”, instead of having to go to one of several municipal buildings across the town, as was previously the case, stated Grobbelaar
Other features of the building will include lifts and multiple accessible bathrooms for persons with disabilities, as well as a technology hub, where residents who do not have access to the internet at home can receive assistance with viewing and settling their online accounts, said Grobbelaar.
Stellenbosch Municipality’s new office block will be accessible to persons with disabilities, according to Stuart Grobbelaar, spokesperson for the municipality. PHOTO: Tim Malinzi