Cape Town’s tallest building on its way.

Some Cape Town residents may be surprised to find out that the cities tallest building is yet to come.Portside is going to be a multi-functional skyscraper and is to be built on the old Malgas site near the V&A Waterfront.It will run along Buitengracht street and will be walking distance from the Waterfront and other attractions.

The site was purchased by the Old Mutual Property group in May last year for more than R89m,the development of the site is projected to cost R1.2bn.The developers are hoping to include 14 500m² of hotel accommodation,33 000m² of office space, and 2 500m² of retail space.Also on the agenda for the building is that it is to be benchmarked according to the Green Building Council of South Africa’s green star rating system, giving it even an more unique edge.This will be the cities most ambitious development since the V&A Waterfront and is targeted for completion in 2011.

But not all residents are happy with the idea of an even taller building in the CBD.The biggest complaint seems to be a concern that the building will ruin the view of what the Mother City is most famous for,Table Mountain.In the past height restrictions have been very closely monitored for this reason and safety concerns about the strong winds Cape Town experiences.

While it may end up being the tallest building in the city some are saying that it won’t be that much taller than the LG building in the near vicinity.One of the reasons the city may have approved it’s construction is the increasing lack of space in Cape Town,with some arguing skyscrapers are the way to go in the future for the space saving capabilities they have.

Although I have to say it would be very sad to see the wonderful view the city is renowned for obscured by countless skyscrapers.I hope it doesn’t go that far.