A bridge to spa

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The state-of-the-art 86m bridge was built at a cost of more than R11 million and is the fifth bridge to be built at Century City spanning the Grand Canal. The bridge links the Canal Walk precinct directly with the "internal street' of Crystal Towers, which comprises the ultra-deluxe 180-room African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa, 91 luxury apartments and 7000m² of Triple A grade offices. The internal street, on to which a number of restaurants spill, is in turn a major pedestrian arterial route between the Crystal Towers precinct and the planned Bridgeways Precinct at Century City.

Protea Hospitality group sales, marketing and revenue director Danny Bryer said the new bridge brought added value for hotel guests, who were now within a short stroll of the largest shopping complex in the southern hemisphere. "The location of this deluxe conferencing and leisure hotel is perfect. It is adjacent to more than 400 top-class shops and restaurants and it is in arguably the safest precinct in Cape Town.

"The state-of-the-art conference facilities at African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa attract people from all over world and what they find when they get here is ultimate luxury in the hotel and anything they could conceivably want to buy, right on its doorstep. They can walk between the mall and the hotel at night, knowing that if they've been to see a movie, for instance, there are no security concerns when they stroll back to the hotel over the new bridge. Guests are also only15 minutes away from the airport and 10 minutes from the city centre and the V&A Waterfront."

Future expansion allowed for in design

Greg Deans, a director of developers Rabie Property Group, said the first phase of the 100 000m² Bridgeways Precinct development, which will house offices, retailing and hotels, was planned on a site south-west of Crystal Towers near the Virgin Active gym.

"Century City is included in phase one of the City's Bus Rapid Transit System and the planned Century City BRT station is in close proximity to the African Pride Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa, so the new bridge will also be another link for those passengers wishing to visit the Canal Walk precinct."

Deans said they had designed the bridge landing on the Canal Walk precinct in such a way that future expansion of the shopping centre would be able to interface relatively seamlessly with the bridge, providing easy access to the upper level of the centre. Designed by Vivid Architects, the eye-catching 72-ton bridge is lit up at night by low voltage LED lighting on the 19m high arch and walkway, with the arch lighting changing colour every five minutes and creating an intriguing ambiance.