970-unit Salt River housing project fuels election row - IOL
A 970-unit affordable housing development where construction has yet to start has become an election flashpoint after Geordin Hill-Lewis used the Salt River Market site to launch his housing plan for another term as Cape Town mayor.
Hill-Lewis returned to the site on Monday, 21 September 2026, three months after officially handing it over to Communicare, saying the development showed how well-located public land could be used to provide affordable housing.
Hours later, GOOD mayoral candidate Brett Herron accused the DA of using a long-delayed housing project as a campaign backdrop, saying the site had been earmarked for social housing nearly two decades ago.
“This will be the second time in four months that the Salt River Market site has been celebrated with a ceremonial handover – a repeat of what Hill-Lewis announced and did on 8 June 2026.,” Herron said.
Herron said the Salt River Market site was first identified for social housing in 2008 and that in October 2018, while he was the Mayco member responsible for public housing, he took a recommendation to council to sell the land to Communicare at a discounted price for social and affordable housing.
He said the recommendation was referred back before the City announced in August 2019 that the site would be released after rezoning.
The project, however, remained unbuilt when Hill-Lewis officially handed the property to Communicare on June 8 this year.
The development is planned to deliver 300 social-housing rental apartments and 670 affordable-market units close to Cape Town’s CBD.
Herron said Monday’s return to the site amounted to another announcement rather than housing delivery.
“The fact is that the Salt River Market site is not an example of the DA’s commitment to inner-city affordable housing,” he said.
Hill-Lewis used Monday’s launch to set out the DA’s housing plans should it retain control of the City after the local government elections.
These include releasing more City-owned land for affordable housing, expanding affordable rentals through partnerships with private and social-housing developers, upgrading informal settlements and increasing taxes on commercial short-term rentals.
“The future of affordable housing lies in making public land available faster, cutting unnecessary delays, and working with credible private and social-housing partners to build at scale,” Hill-Lewis said.
He said 12 401 state-subsidised homes had been handed over in Cape Town during the past five financial years, claiming this was more than Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni combined.
“We want more Capetonians to be able to live closer to opportunity, and more families to have the security and dignity that comes with a place to call home,” Hill-Lewis said.
