The new residence and retail centre being developed at Obz Square is located close to the Medical Campus, at the corner of Main and Penzance Roads.

The Jammie Shuttle route already passes in both directions along Main Road and bus connections to all parts of the UCT campus are easily available.

The residence will contribute to enhancing the mixed use and higher density nature of the Main Road "activity street corridor" that the City of Cape Town's integrated spatial planning policy wishes to encourage along all sections of the Main Road.

The building will join a group of university properties that together are starting to form the northern "urban" section of the university's campus footprint. These include the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Lung Institute, the hockey field, and Forest Hill residence, among many others.

There has been no need to apply for rezoning of the site, as its general residential C3 zoning allows for "places of instruction, blocks of flats, shops, offices, restaurant, and public garage" to be built.

The zoning also allows for a seven-storey building to be built on the site, which, given the topography of the site, is split in two, with seven storeys being built on both the Main Road and Williams Street side.

Building plans for the project are currently being processed by the City Council and construction has started below ground level with the City's support and approval.

Read the full Capital projects Monday Paper.