Belhar Gardens

Located in Cape Town, Belhar Gardens provides 630 units to low-income residents with nearly 70% of the units allocated to households earning a monthly income of between R3,500 and R7,000. The remaining 30% are allocated to households with a combined income of less than R3,500 per month.

With unique green features such as a heat pump for hot water, water flow restrictors and water meters measuring hot and cold water, residents can monitor their water usage. By reducing energy and water usage, residents pay fewer utility bills and conserve natural resources that are increasingly scarce in Cape Town, especially in the context of the recent drought over the last few years and severe water shortages and restrictions in 2018.

Belhar Gardens was developed by the Madulammoho Housing Association, a social housing company that has partnered with the City of Cape Town, with financing from Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (NCIB)’s Affordable Housing Development Finance division and South Africa’s Green Fund. The Green Fund originated out of a public-private partnership between the Development Bank of South Africa and the government’s Department of Environmental Affairs. It offers financing to projects that help South Africa to meet its low-carbon and resource efficiency goals, leading the nation towards a more climate-resilient future. EDGE has partnered with the development arm of the Swiss government, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), to deliver more social housing properties, such as Belhar Gardens, to the South African market. You can read more about that partnership here.

Belhar Gardens has received final EDGE certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).