Continuing our look at Cape Point in the late 2020s. The numbers on the left correspond with the Cape Point map listing, the letter and number in brackets [eg: (G3)] are the map grid references.
01. Central Business District (G3)
- Arasaka SA
- Microtech
- EBM
- WNS
- Petrochem
- Cape Point Business Tower - IntenSecure
- Korolev IG
- Orbital Air
- Sentry
- Black Eagle Security Group (PMC)
- Nologo Lifestyle - 'We Give Life Meaning'®
- OTEC
- Network News 54
- DeSanto Orbital Industries
- The Horsch Group
The Central Business District, in the heart of old Cape Town, is the premier corporate area in The Hub. The majority of the tallest structures ever seen in the Western Cape can be found on this single, compact circle of prime real estate.
02. Foreshore Plaza District (G4)
- Infocomp
- Merrill, Asukaga & Finch
- WorldSat Communications
- Trauma Team SA
- Makita Genetics SA
- Lazarus Group
- Nakamara-Norton
Foreshore Plaza is a much newer and less claustrophobic design to meet the needs of rapid corporate growth and expansion that has been seen in the region over the last few years. Many transnationals flock to The Hub to take advantage of the lax corporate controls. While not as imposing as the CBD, Foreshore definitely exudes power and prestige. There's also a high PLECs presence here, and their brightly coloured cruisers and SUVs are commonplace.
03. Gardens Commercial Park (D5)
- Commerce Tower - Monarch Law Enforcement
- Sumo Foods International
- Aries Private Contractors
- MetaCops
- Yoshiko
- Dushambe Motor Industries
- Exogenesis
- Ellis-Itami
- International Electric Corporation
- Echo International (PMC)
- CINO
- The European Space Agency - main offices handling the Heaven Over Mountain orbital elevator construction project.
The Gardens Commercial Park was also developed to meet the demands of a corporate culture in overdrive. The area was redesigned to cater for businesses of a lesser scale to the transnational giants, yet several intercons have snapped up plots in the area. The Park has a much less draconian feel, due to the award-winning artificial landscaping that runs throughout the development. Both IEC and CINO choose the area for this reason. A burgeoning local café culture is also growing rapidly here.
04. Kirstenbosch Corporate Zone (J8)
- Biotechnica
- Vanwelt Technologies Group
- Haruna Biolabs
- Militech
- Maas Neotek
- Kiroshi
- Raven Microcybernetics
The old Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, on the periphery of the National Park, now play host to some of the globe's leading biotechnology companies. A great deal of the original flora has been retained and enhanced with the latest designer species. The area has become a showcase for each of the bionationals based there. Militech has also recently relocated here to a purpose built business tower and training complex, and is currently negotiating further development westward into the National Park zone.
06. The Financial District (F3)
Situated in the heart of the old Cape Town Municiple Policed Zone, this overdeveloped cluster of office blocks is home to the financial movers and shakers of the South African Cape Republic. A mix of Protocol-approved international monetary foundations and home-grown family controlled banking clans dominate the local stock exchange, the stark white arc at the centre of the district. All banks, publicly limited companies and corporations in the SACR are registered on the Cape Point Stock Exchange. In recent years biotech, software and foreign weapon imports have been the shares to trade in.
These institutions conduct affairs through a cabal system that guarantees stability, which in turn serves to attract investors. While they do compete against each other, they will never strike at each other directly, preferring to use the gangs and corporations to do their work for them. They are probably the richest organisations in the Republic.
08. Victoria Business Park (F1)
- IHAG
- Customs House
- Telkom Exploration
- Zetatech
- Genepeace SA
- Trinity Holdings Inc.
- Sumo Foods International
- Skinjob Records (subsidiary of DMS)
The pleasant and unassuming Victoria Business Park is a small scale corporate zone consisting of a series of linked low-rise office buildings set amongst pocket parks and discrete annexes. Several cafés and Hyperlife™ franchises, as well as speciality stores, are located on site. Victoria Business Park has it's own security which is unusually professional and polite.
17. AG Sahel Star Development (A3)*
A Moroccan style villa complex in the affluent Sea Point district, containing the offices and living quarters for the conglomerate, surrounded by gravelled pathways and ornamental gardens, featuring stunning Atlantic views. A well guarded landing zone is off to one side of the property and carved cliff-side steps lead down to a private beach area.
AG Sahel Star is a major regional player in the agri-tech market. Agricultural biotech is one of the fastest growing sectors of the modern African economy. Small tech-labs supported by government cash and Chinese corporations made some progress, but it was Brazilian big-agriculture that made the big leaps forward. Strategic partnerships and the promise of expansion led them into the Sahel region early, backing local outfits with cash and support. All the expertise being gathered in Mali created an unexpected biotech haven in Bamako, with former agritech employees and new university graduates spinning off into dozens of different start-ups and fly-by-night labs that expanded into other biotechnology areas. Bamako biotechnology was instrumental in fighting the various retroviral outbreaks of the early twenty-teens, and those medical advances started to seriously undermine the monopolies of old-world Big Pharma.
19. The Tertius-Kazawa Towers (G3)*
Tertius-Kazawa is a realty, leasing and franchise company. They will buy large office blocks, refurbish them, improving the structure, adding more vertical transport and 'redeveloping' the advertising billboard contracts for the top floor neon-signs. They will then lease the floors out as offices or shop space - floors -4 to 0 will be parking, 1 & 2 will be street level food courts, and floors above vary wildly. In Cape Point, food courts often appear on numerous levels, 'flanked' above and below by clothes, books, computer sales, small clinics for skin care and light cybernetics, speciality linens… just about anything a human can carry comfortably.
The very top floors alternate between offices and cliquish clubs, where you are only admitted if you are part of the leasing organisation... For instance the 'Mile High Club' in Tertius-Kazawa's #3 tower in the Foreshore Plaza District CBD - the club was only open to employees of the adjacent Merrill, Asukaga & Finch offices until a few months ago when the employee bar was lifted and they started getting Government clientele. By virtue of the lease, MA&F security has an ECHO system installed there (it listens in on all wireless communication and sieves it for keywords) and is successfully using the venue to attract potentially hostile outsiders into a non-confronting negotiation area - which impresses them with prestige, assuages fears of immediate assassination attempts and keeps them well within range of Security's eyes and ears.
The T-K buildings have large cargo-AV pads on the roof, covered by effective security measures. They offer rooftop AV refuelling stations on many buildings, a major money spinner for them, as well as the refuelling in the parking levels. Refuelling points as secure as T-K's are quite rare, and are popular as a result.
77. Cape Point Media City (H3)
- Amalgamated Media 24
- Diverse Media Systems
- Third Eye News Network
- Apple SA
- Thompson Communications
- Oshima Entertainment
- Black Autumn Productions
- Takara Tomy SA
- Sony Entertainment
The legitimate hypermedia, transmissions, braindance and sim-stim heart of The Hub. The only major players not represented here are the mighty Network 54 and WNS. The area contains offices, studios, conference suites and media centres. Many small local start-ups pay exorbitant rents to be based here for the short time that they exist before they are absorbed, bought out or put down. The area is well served by cafés, bars and apartments. Security levels are high, with the contract for the area fluctuating between IntenSecure and Monarch on a regular basis. The state-sponsored AM24 building dominates the area, followed closely by the DMS tower. The DeSanto Orbital owned Voyager building is the third largest structure in Media City and is home to recording studios, start-ups and digital pioneers as well as front companies for the orbital.
79. Cape Point International Convention Centre (G3)
The SACR's largest and most prestigious convention facility. Part of the Westin Grand Quays hotel complex.
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| Bitchin' security detail, man. How much they cost ya? |
*with apologies to Richard Balmer for bastardising his ideas. :)
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