Amdec-Marriott JV brings AC Hotels brand in the Mother City

The joint venture between Amdec Group and Marriott International, brings the first AC Hotels brand to Africa.

The joint venture between Melrose Arch owners, the Amdec Group and NASDAQ-listed Marriott International, brings the first AC Hotels brand to Africa.

In 2016, Amdec announced that it would inject R3bn into the development of five new hotels in an ongoing partnership with Marriott International – one at The Yacht Club in Cape Town, two at Melrose Arch and a further two at the Harbour Arch inner-city development in Cape Town.

All five of these properties will be firsts for Marriott brands in the country.

The two companies recently announced the official opening of the AC Hotel Cape Town Waterfront at The Yacht Club, its newly completed development in the Mother City.

Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director Middle East and Africa for Marriott International, said, “The opening of this hotel reinforces our commitment to driving growth for our lifestyle brands in South Africa.”

The 188-room hotel is close to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and a 25-minute drive from Cape Town International Airport.

“We are proud to pave the way for Marriott International’s growth plans in South Africa," said James Wilson, Amdec Group CEO. "The Yacht Club mixed-use development, where the AC Hotels by Marriott is situated, is the second property in our portfolio of iconic precincts to welcome Marriott, with Melrose Arch in Johannesburg being the first and Harbour Arch in Cape Town to follow.”

New Development Pipeline

Meanwhile, Amdec is makes progress on replicating Joburg's Melrose Arch success in the Cape Town. 

Amdec says it will take between five and 10 years to complete Harbour Arch as it looks to replicate its flagship asset’s success in Cape Town.

Melrose Arch, the construction of which began in 2005, is 75% owned by Melrose Arch Investment Holdings, with the balance co-owned by the Liberty Group and Liberty Two Degrees.

MD Nicholas Stopforth said Amdec would begin constructing the first of six towers in what would eventually be a R10bn investment this year. Harbour Arch would include 220,000m2 of lettable space.

“This is our largest development in Cape Town and we are very excited about it. We launched the first tower for sale off-plan in October 2017, and have almost sold out of residential units. We will begin constructing the tower in February and will then gradually roll out the others,” he said.

Stopforth said Harbour Arch — which will include hundreds of apartments, office space, car dealerships and a retail portion — is located at the gateway of Cape Town’s CBD, which was in dire need of a mixed-use development of this size. 

Protea Hotels by Marriott, Marriott Hotels, Autograph Collection, Westin and Sheraton are some of the other brands Marriott has in South Africa.