Cape Town's Pelican Park celebrates Mandela Day

This initiative forms part of the celebration of International Nelson Mandela Day which takes place on Saturday, 18 July 2015.

Approximately 1,500 Breaking New Ground units have already been handed over to beneficiaries of the Pelican Park integrated human settlements development.

The build week, a collaborative initiative between the City of Cape Town, Habitat for Humanity, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Power Construction, kicked off on Monday, 13 July 2015 and ends on Friday, 17 July 2015.

Completion time

"We will continue to spare no effort to ensure that this development is completed on time. With our partners, we are making progress possible and this project shows that we cannot forever rely only on government to fund the large-scale delivery of housing opportunities to our marginalised residents," said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Benedicta van Minnen.

"We must draw in the private sector to balance the dynamics of the housing market and we have to devise new ways to ensure delivery of scale. The city cannot do this alone. The increased delivery of housing opportunities to our vulnerable residents must become part of the mainstream conversation," said Van Minnen.

The Pelican Park project is integrated across the full spectrum of affordability, with 2,024 totally subsidised homes (Breaking New Ground) being built alongside 760 starter homes (Gap Housing) selling for R320,000, and 360 higher value homes (bonded) valued from R480,000 to R700,000.

The total cost of this development is approximately R700m, which includes state funding and private investment.

Schools and clinic

The development incorporates provision for two new schools and a regional clinic to be developed respectively by the Western Cape Government Department of Education and City Health, as well as two properties zoned as places of worship.

A commercial precinct was also opened in November 2014 in an effort to enable economic opportunities for the residents.

There are generous open spaces within the development itself and safe courtyards encircled by houses. The development also fronts onto the False Bay Ecology Park, which can be accessed during daylight hours and provides pleasant opportunities for bird watching and picnicking while overlooking Zeekoevlei.