Zonnebloem: Cape Town’s latest gentrification hotspot
(This article was published on 29 May 2016 in the Weekend Argus, a weekly newspaper published by Independent Media in Cape Town, Western Cape province.)
Written by Yazeed Kamaldien
Zonnebloem neighbourhood’s working class residents in Springfield Terrace flats feel threatened, claiming estate agents are pushing a new wave of gentrification on central Cape Town’s doorstep.
Springfield Terraces in Zonnebloem where residents say estate agents are lining up outside their doors to buy their apartments. PICTURE: YAZEED KAMALDIEN
An estate agent working in the area has confirmed buyers are interested, with an offer even coming through from a developer who wanted to buy up one of the nine standing blocks.
For some Zonnebloem residents, the current wave of gentrification feels much like apartheid era forced removals from District Six, just up the road from their homes.
Mary Wentzel, who was born in District Six almost 60 years ago, was forcibly removed from the area when she was a child.
