Bruma Lake's retail white elephant has given miserable returns to its local investors for 10 years, but a Chinese investment group is about to turn the waterfront into what it hopes will become a gold mine.

CAPE TOWN Wooltru, the retail investment company, which is unbundling assets and winding down, is trading at a 25% discount to management's valuation of its remaining assets and liabilities.

The Cape Town Partnership - the company formed by the Cape Town city government, business and property owners to help develop the city.

A surge in spending by property owners was likely to follow finance minister Trevor Manuel's announcement of an incentive for owners of inner city buildings to refurbish their properties.

Beaufort West, a traditional stop for road traffic between the Reef and Western Cape, has been targeted by a Cape Town property company as the site for a commercial shopping centre.

Storage facility to open at Westlake Cape-based Storageland has bought 1.7ha of prime industrial land at Westlake for the construction of a 700-unit storage facility.

Spearhead Property Holdings will this month be going ahead with the construction of Phase II of its avante garde Spearhead Business Park in Montague Gardens at a cost of R16 million.

The Naspers Printing Works in Buitengracht Street is soon to become the Cape headquarters of the National Prosecuting Authority.

The stronger rand has had a tremendous impact on confidence in the commercial property market, says property consultancy Abro Luntz.

The "soft" property market in many areas of SA is offering potential longterm benefits for companies prepared to take advantage of present trends.