Other initiatives soon to be rolled out are the installation of a power factor correction unit - a device which regulates large spikes in usage, as well as the installation of solar energy.
"The Cape Quarter has also been registered as a pilot project for the Green Building Council of South Africa's new Existing Building Rating Tool," explains Marc Edwards, CEO of Tower. "This will allow us to establish a benchmark to see how the Cape Quarter compares to similar centres in terms of energy use and will allow a transparent means of measuring energy for tenants."
The centre in general has experienced a marked improvement since being purchased by Tower and managed by Spire Property Management, and is virtually fully let. Amongst the new tenants, the Cape Quarter now has a Vida-E Café which opened its doors in May and has been extremely busy in the short time since then, as well as a Cold Press, opened under the Vida-E umbrella, which serves cold pressed fresh fruit juices - both of which introduce new national tenants to the mix.
"Going forward we will be engaging with architects to strategically create ways of improving foot flow through the centre," says Edwards. "The findings and successes from Cape Quarter will be rolled out to other buildings within the Tower portfolio. A retrofit of 382 Jan Smuts Drive in Johannesburg will begin in July, initially with the upgrading of the façade of the building as well as the atriums."
