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Harare City is expanding its CBD to include Arcadia, Braeside, Hillside, Ridgeview, Milton Park, Newlands, Eastlea, parts of Belvedere and Belgravia, Workington and Graniteside industrial areas following an unprecedented surge in demand for commercial space.
To achieve the expansion, the city is reviewing the CBD local development plan 22 with a view to incorporating the suburbs.
The review of the local development plan supersedes local development plans for the Showgrounds and Newlands, areas that would be under the expanded CBD.
Urban Planning Services director Mr Psychology Chiwanga confirmed the expansion.
“There has been a trend of applications for change of use permits in these areas. We have decided to incorporate the areas because of the demand,” he said.
He said there had been a natural growth outwards and a desertion of the CBD offices which are now largely occupied by small to medium enterprises such as tailors, candle makers and printing companies.
The occupancy of the offices had increased 10-fold, putting pressure on the buildings which were meant for a limited number of people.
The increased numbers had also exerted pressure on electricity, water and ablution facilities which were also designed for fewer people. This has also increased risk of fire.
Mr Chiwanga said people in the areas to be incorporated would still own their properties, but might be bought off by companies and individuals intending to develop multi-storey complexes.
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Land use in the new area would be mixed implying that offices, residential properties, shops, schools and other services would co-exist.
But the city would retain authority to determine which activities might not be carried out in certain areas.
The expansion was also aimed at decongesting the existing city centre.
Mr Chiwanga said some streets in the expanded CBD would be pedestrianised to allow for street vending during specific hours.
Already, hundreds of properties in these areas had been converted into offices that were operating illegally and not paying commercial rates.
Mr Chiwanga said the city was losing revenue from commercial entities operating outside the designated CBD.
“They are not being rated for intensified use. Having realised that, we decided to review local development plan 22. We sought council permission to do that,” he said.
A meeting with urban planners, the business sector and other stakeholders has already been held and another one would be held to consider findings of a team on the ground to hear concerns.
Delays in approving the expansion would continue to adversely affect the city’s revenue collection as only a portion of businesses would be paying commercial rates.
Once the expansion is complete it would then be gazetted and allow property owners to apply for change of use permits from residential to commercial.
This would result in the development of skyscrapers in the named suburbs.
Existing residential apartments that intend to convert into commercial would be allowed to reserve certain floors for residential purposes. This would allow people working in the CBD to stay close so that they do not require motorised transport to go to work.
Property owners in those suburbs would pay CBD rates.
The department of housing and community services had been complaining that the demand for office space was eating into the housing stock, a development that resulted in an ever high housing demand.
It is assumed that rates paid by occupants of CBD properties would be channelled towards social housing development. The city has over 14 000 properties some of which are in the area designated for the CBD expansion.
Online Reporter