University to incorporate hotel and retirement village on campus
LOS ANGELES: A university is to incorporate both a hotel and a retirement village within its existing campus.
Nelson Mandela University wants to build a licensed hotel, medical village and frail care centre at its Second Avenue campus, with Urban Dynamics EC applying to the municipality on behalf of the institution for a rezoning change.
Urban Dynamics EC was appointed by NMU to submit an application to the municipality for the rezoning of the property and seek special consent from the council to permit a variety of secondary land uses in accordance with the city’s zoning scheme.
A report on the application was tabled and noted at a mayoral committee meeting yesterday, along with the recommendation that the council grant consent for the rezoning change.
According to the report, NMU’s faculty of business and economic science requires a hotel school for practical training in the hospitality management programme.
This proposed facility is intended to comprise 40 bedrooms including two presidential suites.
“The main objective for the hotel school is to provide accommodation to delegations, sports teams, parents and visiting academics and simultaneously serve as a practical training facility for students in the tourism and hospitality field,” reads the report.
The institution also wants to develop a retirement village that will be supported by a nursing home which will include short-term medical treatment rooms, a clinic, examination rooms and a dispensary.
“A proposed retirement village is planned to provide approximately 58 dwelling units comprising low- to mediumdensity units.”
These units are intended to primarily cater to the university staff members who qualify for retirement.
A site inspection conducted in February revealed the property was largely vacant and used as a cricket sports field by NMU.
“The area is predominantly occupied by a variety of land uses such as guest houses, The Boardwalk shopping centre, low- to high-density residential and educational facilities.”
It states the development can be seen as an opportunity for the vacant piece of land to be optimally used, an exercise that will ultimately have a positive impact on the character of the area and its economic viability.
No objections were received during the public participation process.
However, when consulted, Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Gouws welcomed the development but raised concerns over traffic on Second Avenue.
“First, this is one massive development so congratulations on wanting to improve the ward,” Gouws said.
“The only concern I have is that of traffic flow.
“It would be required to extend the Second Avenue road similarly to what The Boardwalk did for their shopping mall entrance.
“Other than that, I have no objection to the application as long as all bylaws and municipal procedures are followed. However, I would like to get feedback regarding the traffic flow and the possibility of extending Second Avenue to have extra lanes.”
The report states a detailed traffic impact assessment (TIA) is being done by transportation engineers.
All councillors agreed with the report and it will go to the council next Thursday.