Afrirent Holdings and co-developer Lance Chalwin-Milton now plan to invest about R2.5 billion in ThirtyFour18, a 35-storey mixed-use tower next to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in the Foreshore. According to Moneyweb’s report of 29 October 2026, which draws on the developers’ latest media release, that is almost double the R1 billion to R1.3 billion the group said in 2024 that it planned to invest on the site. Construction is expected to begin in April 2027, after a sales launch planned for January.
We could not retrieve the Afrirent media release itself, so the figures below come from the Moneyweb report and from other outlets that covered the project.
What the tower will contain
Moneyweb says the tower will have 94 private apartments, seven penthouses, a 155-room hotel, a rooftop sky bar and swimming pool, commercial office space and some retail outlets. The report says the building will include four floors of office space, a co-working space on the hotel’s first floor with direct access to the CTICC, and an innovation hub across the second and third floors. A second restaurant, open to hotel guests and the public, is planned for the sixth floor.
Property Wheel, which also covered the project in October 2026, gives the apartment count as 101, which matches Moneyweb’s 94 apartments plus seven penthouses. It says the project was launched by Indalo Hotels and Leisure Group, a subsidiary of Afrirent Holdings, and that the site is 1 680 square metres in front of CTICC 2 on Heerengracht Street. It says the name refers to the geographic coordinates of the site, that the foundations will need about 90 piles reaching around 90 feet into the ground, and that completion is targeted for April 2031. It gives the April 2027 start as “late April”, subject to the necessary approvals.
Jobs and the Michelin hope
Afrirent founder Senzo Tsabedze said the project would create jobs. Moneyweb quotes him saying: “We’re looking at 2 500 jobs during construction.” He added that about 400 permanent jobs would remain once the scheme is finished. These are the developer’s estimates, and neither source says how they were calculated.
Chalwin-Milton, described by Moneyweb as a co-founder and former managing director of High Street Auctions, said the developers hope to attract a Michelin-starred restaurant to the rooftop. They are working with a group that is seeking to bring Michelin-starred chefs to Cape Town. That is an aspiration, not a signed tenant. He also said the developers hope to lease the innovation hub to the CTICC so it can showcase new technologies, and that such spaces are popular overseas.
How the figure grew from R1.2 billion to R2.5 billion
The site was offered by the City of Cape Town and High Street Auctions as a 99-year lease on a 25 000 square metre development block in the Foreshore, as BusinessTech reported in March 2024. At that stage the City said it anticipated about R1 billion of investment. The auction house said the lease would carry an initial 60-year term with a 20-year renewal option and a further 19-year option, and that the City would give the winner 36 months for design, planning approvals and statutory requirements.
In November 2024, BusinessTech reported that Afrirent had submitted the winning bid for a development it put at R1.2 billion, to include lifestyle, retail and office space and a hotel. It said the lease was worth about R1.6 million a month to the City, subject to council’s final approval, which was expected in December that year. BusinessTech also noted that Afrirent had bought a majority stake in High Street Auctions, the auction house, a month earlier. Moneyweb’s 2026 report says Afrirent secured a long-term lease from the City in 2024; we did not find a council notice confirming the final approval or the lease terms, so we do not state them as settled.
The two site sizes in the coverage are different measures. The 25 000 square metre figure refers to the bulk development block offered at auction, while Property Wheel’s 1 680 square metre figure refers to the site of the tower itself. Neither source explains how the two relate, and we have not seen the City’s documents on this.
The City’s view
James Vos, the City’s mayoral committee member for economic growth, spoke during a tour of the site with the developers. Moneyweb quotes him saying: “We want Cape Town and the world to know that we are open for business.” He said government should do everything possible to make private investment land. The developers said they deliberately appointed Cape Town-based professionals so that a greater share of the economic benefit stays in the local economy.
Why it matters for Cape Town business
Moneyweb notes that Cape Town faces a shortage of residential property across income bands, and that its position between the sea and the mountain limits land for development. It also says office space is in demand. The developers say the serviced apartments will place residents in one of the city’s commercial, tourism and events districts, with views of the V&A Waterfront, the harbour and Table Mountain. The co-working space is aimed at conference delegates during large events.
For readers following Cape Town’s property and visitor economy, our earlier pieces on Cape Town property prices and the R3.5bn tourism investment pipeline give wider context.
What is still unknown
As of 29 October 2026, the project is a plan, not a build. Moneyweb describes construction as “expected” to begin in April 2027, and Property Wheel makes the start subject to approvals. The coverage does not say what funding is in place, who will operate the hotel, what the apartments will cost, or whether the building plans have been approved. Dates, job numbers and the R2.5 billion figure all come from the developers, so readers should treat them as targets until construction begins.
