Gardens is a City Bowl commercial node on the upper edge of Cape Town’s inner city, with commercial activity running along Kloof Street, Orange Street and the blocks below Table Mountain. It attracts companies that want CBD access without committing to a pure tower-office environment: professional services, agencies, design-led firms, training businesses, clinics and smaller regional offices that benefit from staff and client movement through the City Bowl.
The area works at street scale. Commercial space is set among residential blocks, restaurants, independent retail and civic edges, so building choice can change materially from one block to the next. For a tenant, the practical questions are staff commute patterns, visitor parking, frontage and after-hours access, especially on Kloof Street, where evening trade affects kerbside movement. Gardens suits businesses that want inner-city visibility with a more local, walkable operating environment than the main CBD grid.
Median asking rent
Asking rent per m² per month, 7-year trend. Based on 359 units listed through Anvil Property Smith.
Gardens on the map
The defined node boundary and the 82 buildings Anvil Property tracks within it.
Understanding the area
The node has developed as an incremental mixed-use node, not a single office precinct. Commercial stock is worked into converted houses, walk-up buildings, small office blocks and retail-facing properties, with the character shifting quickly between Kloof Nek Road, upper Buitenkant Street and the streets running toward the CBD. That gives tenants more variation in scale and presentation than they would usually find in a conventional office park.
The tenant base is strongest among companies that value identity and accessibility over large contiguous floorplates. Owner-managed firms, appointment-led businesses, specialist consultancies, wellness and lifestyle operators, media-related teams and NGOs choose Gardens because it supports staff convenience, client visits and a less corporate day-to-day setting. The area suits teams that can use the cafés, retail and residential catchment around Kloof Street and Orange Street as part of the working pattern, while still keeping inner-city reach.
The mix is shaped by several practical tenant profiles:
- Client-facing firms needing a recognisable City Bowl location
- Smaller teams avoiding high-rise office layouts
- Lifestyle and wellness operators using residential demand
- Creative and media businesses wanting a street-based setting
- NGOs and specialist services needing central access
That spread keeps the area varied. A tenant comparing buildings in Gardens should expect meaningful differences in entrance visibility, parking arrangement, fit-out age and street exposure, even within a short walk.
The development pattern has also kept Gardens relatively fine-grained. Many properties have been adapted over time, so the market is less about uniform office product and more about matching the business to the right building condition and street position. For a company, the trade-off is clear: Gardens offers smaller-scale flexibility and a more local operating environment, but tenants needing large floorplates, formal reception sequencing or extensive dedicated parking will need to be selective from the outset.
Why businesses choose this area
The main reason to choose Gardens is CBD access with a more practical daily operating base on the upper City Bowl edge. From this position, De Waal Drive carries Southern Suburbs traffic onto the M3, Kloof Nek Road connects over the mountain saddle toward the Atlantic Seaboard, and Buitengracht gives a direct line toward the Foreshore, N1 and N2 ramps. That routing makes Gardens useful for teams whose clients, staff and suppliers move across more than one Cape Town corridor.
Against the CBD core, Gardens’ advantage is day-to-day usability. The buildings are typically smaller in scale, with more scope for street-facing access, separate entrances and fit-outs that feel less standardised than tower offices. The trade-off is building-specific: a tenant needs to test parking ratios, signage rights, access hours and expansion options before committing. Gardens tends to suit companies with these requirements:
- Staff arriving from the Southern Suburbs, Atlantic Seaboard and CBD fringe
- Client-facing firms that benefit from street-level access
- Specialist practices needing smaller, self-contained offices
- Companies that value retail and food amenity within the working day
For these businesses, Gardens works best when the chosen building matches the operating model, especially on client arrival, fit-out scope and after-hours access.
The managed precinct infrastructure adds another reason to consider Lower Gardens specifically. The Lower Gardens CID runs a 24/7/365 control room linked to CCTV, radio communication and apartment block security networks, with the City business plan covering centrally managed CCTV and licence-plate-recognition cameras across the precinct. Gardens Shopping Centre also states that a 24-hour on-site security team is always present. For a tenant, those are practical operating features: they support longer trading days, staff movement between office and retail uses, and a more managed street environment around key routes.
Infrastructure and building specifications
Across the properties we cover in Gardens, the office stock is A grade, but the practical difference for a tenant is in age, fit-out condition and building services. We currently list conventional office units with a median size of 175 m², and the middle band is 105–341 m². Larger options do exist, with some stock extending beyond 900 m², so the area can accommodate both compact teams and more substantial single-floor requirements.
Fit-out quality needs building-by-building testing. Some A-grade space will be ready for occupation with limited work; other units may need allowance for cabling, meeting-room reconfiguration, HVAC zoning or refreshed finishes. Serviced-office availability is limited in the properties we cover, with options from 3 desks or small suites in one serviced-office building, so businesses needing swing space or plug-and-play flexibility should confirm availability early.
Before committing to a Gardens office, tenants should check the specification items that materially affect occupation cost and daily use:
- Parking allocation and visitor bay arrangements
- Backup power provision and generator capacity
- HVAC age, zoning and maintenance position
- Lift access and after-hours entry controls
- Reuse value of the existing fit-out
Parking provision is best treated as a negotiation and due-diligence item, not an assumption. Gardens can work well for companies that value a central Cape Town position, but bay ratios, access control and visitor parking differ by building. A tenant with staff-heavy operations should quantify parking demand before signing, while a smaller professional firm may be able to trade down on bays if the building specification and layout are strong.
Green credentials are still selective. Across our Gardens listings, 2 of 82 buildings hold a green rating, equal to 2% of buildings we currently cover. Tenants with ESG reporting requirements should identify rated buildings early, or assess practical efficiency measures such as lighting, HVAC performance and metering where a formal rating is not in place.
- Building grade
- A-grade (61% of stock)
- Median floor plate
- 175 m²
- Typical floor plate range
- 105–341 m² (middle half of stock)
- Largest available
- 900+ m² (top of stock)
- Serviced offices
- 3 desks across 1 buildings
- Green-rated stock
- 2 of 82 buildings (2%)
Property rental rates
Across our current Gardens listings, rentals price from R110 to R225 per m² (10th to 90th percentile), median R150 per m² on a net asking basis. Once rates and levies are included, the working budget is about R165 per m² gross. That is the figure tenants should use for first-pass affordability, then reconcile against parking, operating costs and fit-out condition before comparing buildings.
Space absorbs fastest when the asking rate is supported by usable existing fit-out and low upfront occupation cost. Gardens attracts businesses that want a City Bowl address without committing to larger CBD floorplates, so smaller, practical offices with meeting rooms, air-conditioning and decent natural light usually get tested first. Rate movement is typically driven by a few concrete variables:
- Fit-out quality and reuse value
- Parking availability and bay pricing
- Lift access and building upkeep
- Backup power or fibre readiness
- Street frontage for client-facing users
At the upper end, tenants should expect cleaner common areas, better parking logic and fewer immediate capex requirements. At the lower end, the trade-off is usually older internal specification or a layout that needs work before occupation. The right rental is the one that prices those costs honestly; a cheaper net rate can lose its advantage quickly if the tenant has to fund a meaningful refit before moving in.
| Monthly budget | Approximate size | Likely property type |
|---|---|---|
| Up to R15,000 | 11 – 210 m² (median 66) | Small fitted suites (84 listed) |
| R15,000 – R50,000 | 30 – 750 m² (median 180) | Small office suites (142 listed) |
| R50,000 – R150,000 | 158 – 1400 m² (median 487) | Mid-sized offices (59 listed) |
| R150,000+ | 270 – 18941 m² (median 1550) | Whole floors / corporate HQ (14 listed) |
Key buildings
- Planet Art, 32 Jamieson Street9 listings32 Jamieson St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Creative office building on Jamieson Street in Gardens, close to the CBD and Kloof Street. Shared courtyard, lounges and a café suit small to mid-sized creative businesses needing a central, well-connected base.
- Longkloof Studios,4 Darters Rd3 listings4 Darters Rd, Gardens, Cape Town
Secure office building on Darters Road by Kloof Street in Gardens, opposite a MyCiTi stop. Suits small to mid-sized creative, studio or professional tenants wanting a central setting with a shared courtyard and nearby retail.
- 62 Roeland Street, Cape Town2 listings62 Roeland Street, Cape Town
Refurbished office building on Roeland Street at the edge of Gardens, opposite Roeland Square and near Harrington Street. Suits firms needing secure, well-connected CBD space with fibre, 24-hour access and city views.
- 17 Jamieson Street, Gardens, Cape Town2 listings17 Jamieson Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Refurbished A-grade office building just off Kloof Street in Gardens, with open-plan studio offices, large windows and lift access. Suited to small professional or creative businesses wanting a city-edge address with strong transport links.
- The Avalon - Gardens Cape Town1 listing125 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Newly renovated office building opposite Gardens Centre, with ground-floor retail and contemporary office space. Suits firms needing strong visibility and quick access to the CBD, Wembley Square and the N1/N2.
- Earlgo Building, Cape Town1 listing2 Park Rd, Gardens, Cape Town
Six-storey A-grade office building on the Kloof Street strip in Gardens, with 24-hour security and strong public transport access. Suits small professional or creative tenants wanting a central office near cafés, retail and daily services.
- Wembley Square,40 Solan Road1 listing40 Solan Road, Wembley Square, Gardens, Cape Town
Contemporary office complex in Wembley Square, Gardens, comprising three buildings with office, commercial and ground-floor retail space. Suits corporate and creative tenants needing fibre connectivity, parking and quick CBD and MyCiTi access.
- 149 Upper Canterbury St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Mixed-use office building in Upper Gardens, two levels above street-facing commercial uses near Wembley Square and Gardens Shopping Centre. Suits small professional or creative tenants needing natural light and quick CBD, N1 and N2 access.
Available properties
B2 UNIT 1
Planet Art, 32 Jamieson Street
This modern A grade Studio Office to let on Jamieson Street, Gardens Boasts 17sqm of work space, stunning light fixtures, laminate floori...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
2ND FLOOR
Wembley Square,40 Solan Road
This 245m² second-floor office space in Wembley Square is available immediately and offers a tenant installation (TI) allowance of one mo...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
UNIT 3E
Planet Art, 32 Jamieson Street
This modern A grade Studio Office to let on Jamieson Street, Gardens Boasts 31qm of serviced work space, stunning light fixtures, laminat...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
B2 UNIT 4
Planet Art, 32 Jamieson Street
This Incredible A Grade Studio Office to let on Jamieson Street, Gardens Boasts 35sqm of serviced workspace, communal kitchenette unit, s...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
Incredible 100sqm office space to let on Jamieson Street in Gardens, includes two large open plan workspaces, a small kitchenette, commun...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
1ST FLOOR UNIT
Earthlife, 149 Canterbury Street, Gardens, Cape Town
170 m² prime office located in a prime Gardens node next to the sought-after Wembley Square development. This modern workspace offers bea...
Sophia Puchert
Candidate Property Practitioner
Investments and developments
Capital and infrastructure activity in Gardens. These are projects that materially change the supply, access or amenity of the node.
- Recently completed2025
Longkloof Precinct redevelopment in Gardens completed after phased heritage-led project
A July 2025 project report said Growthpoint’s Longkloof Precinct redevelopment in Gardens had completed, combining restored historic buildings, new hotel space, offices, retail and a public square in a 15-year mixed-use precinct project.
Construction World ↗ - Recently completed2025
Canopy by Hilton Cape Town Longkloof opened in the Longkloof Precinct
Hilton announced the opening of Canopy by Hilton Cape Town Longkloof, adding a new hotel anchor to the completed mixed-use Longkloof commercial precinct in Gardens.
Hilton ↗ - Announced2025
The Founders’ Garden Project bid notice issued for mixed-use redevelopment in central Cape Town
The Western Cape Government issued a bid notice for the Founders’ Garden site, describing a high-rise, residentially led mixed-use development with retail, commercial space and publicly accessible open space beside the Company’s Garden/Lower Gardens edge.
Western Cape Government ↗ - Announced2025
Western Cape Government launched Founders Garden mixed-use inner-city development
On 25 July 2025 the province launched the Founders Garden project as an inner-city mixed-use development that will include commercial components and form part of broader precinct-led investment near Gardens.
Western Cape Government ↗ - Announced2025
Implementation of the Lower Gardens City Improvement District approved for 2025/26
Cape Town council documentation records approval of the Lower Gardens CID, with a first-year budget to fund precinct management, safety and public-environment interventions across a mixed residential-commercial area in Gardens.
City of Cape Town / Lower Gardens CID ↗
As of 2026-07-15
The bottom line
Gardens suits a business that wants its address to do some operational work: staff can move between the upper City Bowl and the CBD, clients can find the building without entering a large office campus, and smaller teams can choose space with more character than a standard floorplate. The trade-off is that building-by-building variation matters more here than in a managed park. Parking, access, fit-out condition and street exposure need to be checked on the actual property, not assumed from the suburb name.
The area’s best fit is a tenant that values City Bowl positioning and can use the street-level energy of Gardens without needing a corporate campus format. For that profile, the case is clear: Gardens offers CBD reach without CBD rigidity, with enough variation for a company to choose a building that matches how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Gardens is strongest for small to mid-sized offices, including converted Victorian houses, sectional-title office units, and boutique commercial buildings around Kloof Street, Orange Street and Roeland Street. Tenants can also find more conventional office space in mixed-use blocks, often with retail, cafés and residential stock nearby. The area suits creative firms, professional practices and consultancies that want a City Bowl address without taking space in a large corporate tower.
In Gardens, office rentals vary mainly by building condition, parking allocation, fit-out quality and position relative to Kloof Street and the CBD edge. Refurbished offices with good access and on-site parking will usually price above older walk-up or partially fitted space. For tenants, the practical comparison is less about a single area average and more about the total monthly cost once parking, fit-out spend and lease term are included.
Gardens can work for regional offices and boutique headquarters where access to the Cape Town CBD, Kloof Street, De Waal Drive and the City Bowl talent pool matters more than a large corporate campus format. The area suits companies that want central city access with a compact, urban operating base, especially professional services, creative firms, consultancies and owner-managed businesses. Larger corporates should test parking ratios, expansion space and visitor access building by building before committing.
Office tenants in Gardens usually look first for on-site parking, with better provision in larger office buildings and mixed-use properties offering basement, covered or open bays. Smaller converted houses and older buildings often have limited dedicated bays, so tenants should test staff parking, client access and nearby public parking options before committing. Street parking is useful for short visits, but it should not be treated as the main parking strategy for a daily office team.
Gardens sits above the Cape Town CBD around Kloof, Orange and Buitenkant streets, offering City Bowl access in a more residential, lifestyle-led setting than the central office grid. Compared with the V&A Waterfront, it trades large-scale waterfront stock for lower-key premises and mountain-side convenience; compared with Woodstock, it feels less industrial and more established. It suits companies wanting central Cape Town reach without the density and formality of the CBD.
Gardens gives staff walkable access to Kloof Street, Bree Street and the upper CBD, with cafés, restaurants, grocers, gyms, pharmacies and day-to-day banking within a practical lunch-hour radius. Tenants also benefit from nearby hotels, medical suites and public-sector offices, while De Waal Park and the Company’s Garden support informal meetings and staff breaks. For companies that want a city address without being fully inside the CBD grid, Gardens works well because amenities are concentrated along familiar, easy-to-navigate streets.
Yes. Gardens is well-served for a City Bowl location, with MyCiTi access, minibus taxi movement on the main corridors, and easy e-hailing coverage around Kloof Street, Orange Street and Buitenkant Street. For staff commuting from across Cape Town, the practical advantage is Gardens’ position just above the Cape Town CBD, although tenants should still test the walk from specific stops to the building entrance before committing.
Gardens gives a business City Bowl access without being in the CBD core, with quick movement to the city centre, Kloof Street, Orange Street and the De Waal Drive corridor. It suits companies that want client-facing offices near restaurants, cafés, hotels and professional services, while keeping staff within reach of public transport and the broader Atlantic Seaboard and southern suburbs. The main trade-off is that stock can vary by building format, so the best fit often comes down to parking, access control and layout.
Gardens works well for smaller professional firms, but the main constraints are limited large floorplates, older A-grade buildings with fit-out constraints, and tighter parking than tenants may find in decentralised office nodes. Access can also be uneven: Kloof Street, Orange Street and Buitenkant Street carry CBD-edge traffic, while staff commuting patterns can be less straightforward than offices within the Gautrain-style transit model seen in other cities. For companies needing expansion space, high parking ratios or a conventional corporate campus layout, Gardens can feel constrained.
Contact Anvil Property Smith’s Cape Town office team to arrange viewings in Gardens. A broker who works the CBD fringe and Kloof Street corridor can match your brief to suitable buildings, confirm current availability, and set up access with landlords or managing agents.
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