History and Luxury Meet in Cape Town's Most Unique New Development
Category Property News
An exciting new luxury residential development is currently under construction on Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard that will have history lovers - and property connoisseurs - salivating.
Alpha One is a six-story boutique development situated on the slopes of Signal Hill between High Level Road and Ocean View Drive, on what is one of the last possible prime building sites on the Atlantic Seaboard. Featuring 16 premium apartments, all with uninterrupted views, the story behind the site on which Alpha One stands is as unique as the building itself.
A military relic unearthed
Once the location of a 19th century fortified battery, a rare military relic - a "disappearing gun" - was unearthed from below a derelict swimming pool which stood on the site. Buried for almost 100 years, this disappearing gun was brought to the Cape in 1885 during a brief period of tension between Britain and Russia. Britain, fearing that Russian aggression may threaten all their colonies, installed breech loading canons around the Cape, including three huge and mysterious "disappearing guns".
Disappearing guns are a uniquely British feat of mid-Victorian engineering and are extremely rare. They had the ability to hide from enemy fire by lowering down into a gun pit with hydraulic lifting mechanisms. After being fired, they would disappear back into a vault under a protective shield.
The disappearing gun in Sea Point never saw military action. The gun was fired once a month as per army regulations but was not popular among the locals because of the noise. There were a lot of complaints and eventually the land was sold by the Department of Defence in the 1920's - after that the battery's existence disappeared as the site was covered over by residential buildings.
Simon Bridges, Managing Director of Elemental, a boutique property development company who are the owners of Alpha One, explains that the project began in August of 2018. "We were aware of the remnants of the Sea Point Battery under the site but did not know the extent, or indeed what would be found remaining. Once the structures above ground were demolished, we brought in an archaeological team, as well as geotechnical engineers, to ensure that the battery structure was safely unearthed and documented, without damaging it."
"An archaeological dig commenced," says Bridges, "a painstaking three-month process whereby the gun emplacement was exposed and then the extremely hard clay was dug out by hand, with experts carefully documenting and archiving what was uncovered. Our preservation and restoration plan, which was approved by Heritage Western Cape, saw the historical battery remnants being incorporated into the new development - in fact the entire design of the building centres around the battery."
Other specialists brought on board include a company called Mixed Ideas who specialise in working with, and restoring, metal. "Mixed Ideas restored the gun placement and recycled some of the pieces to create the logo for Alpha One. AvH Construction (Pty) Ltd are the builders on the project and have used their extensive experience and knowledge in the field to carry out this challenging multi-faceted project with exceptional results."
Old meets new - with pride of place
The now restored disappearing gun forms an integral part of the new building and features front and centre as a glass enclosed exhibition in the beautiful communal central lounge and wine-tasting area.
Bridges says that a network of underground tunnels and ammunition storage rooms was also unearthed, and these are being restored and re-purposed into a wine cellar, with dedicated tasting areas and private wine lock-up's for each Alpha One resident. "During the excavations we exposed surviving paintwork on one of the tunnel entrances which gave this mysterious military site a name: the battery had been known as Alpha One and it was only fitting to keep this name for the new development."
Alexa Horne, MD of DG Properties, marketing and sales agents for Alpha One, explains that Alpha One is unrivalled in location, enjoying an expansive and elevated ocean-facing setting that allows every apartment, on every level of the building, to have uninterrupted sea views from both the bedroom and living areas, as well as from the terraces that stretch the length of each unit.
"Added to this, Alpha One features a communal rooftop leisure deck with a swimming pool, lounge and braai area that boasts some of the best 360-degree views in Cape Town, looking over the ocean towards Robben Island and also enjoying stunning mountain views."
Natacha Neuburger, the DG sales agent for Alpha One, advises that once completed the two and three-bedroomed apartments at Alpha One, which are priced from R7.9 Million up to R17.250 Million (Incl. VAT, with no transfer duty) will feature oak flooring throughout, integrated SMEG appliances, underfloor heating in the bathrooms, high-speed fibre and Wi-Fi, full smart home integration, 24 hour security with biometric access and remote CCTV surveillance, LED lighting, and rainwater harvesting - to name but a few details. Alpha One will also have its own off-grid back-up power generation capacity and multiple parking bays for residents.
"We are extremely excited to be involved in the marketing and sales of the apartments at Alpha One. There are hardly any spaces left on the Atlantic Seaboard for development - making Alpha One a rare find. Not only does the elevated location of this luxury building set it apart from others, but its design, with innovative communal living spaces, as well as the seamless integration of its historical past make Alpha One a definite one of a kind," concludes Neuburger.
Author: Cape Argus, 20 August 2020