Proposed luxury hotel to ‘preserve Swakop’s heritage’

A proposed luxury hotel in Swakopmund would preserve the historic character of the old municipal building and post office while unlocking tourism and investment, developers say.

Their comments follow reports that the National Heritage Council (NHC) objected to aspects of the redevelopment of the 120-year-old structure.

Developer Rakhat Darmesh told Namibian Sun’s sister publication Erongo the project has “never” been about erasing the building’s identity and that its heritage value was the main reason he invested in it.

“I bought this building because of its historic value and its exterior look,” he said. “I just fell in love with it.”

The N$140 million private project is planned as a 50-room boutique hotel.

Darmesh estimates the hotel will create about 40 permanent jobs once operational, in addition to construction employment.

He said the exterior gives the building its identity and commercial attraction.

“The only aspect of the building the community interacts with is the exterior,” he said. “The exterior will not only be preserved, this development will give it another hundred years of life.”

Debate

The proposal comes after years in which the building has remained underused and visibly deteriorated.

While many have objected strongly to any demolition, others argued that responsible redevelopment could preserve heritage value, prevent further deterioration and modernise unsafe infrastructure.

Development partner Quintin Simon said the building in its current condition would struggle to meet modern fire, health and safety standards for hospitality use without major structural intervention.

Structural engineers advised that the existing foundation and internal structure could not safely carry the current and intended loads, meaning substantial demolition would be required to make the building compliant.

“I will not pass any health and safety requirements,” Darmesh agreed. “It will be impossible to implement if the building is preserved in its absolute current state.”

The developers also argued that much of what is today regarded as part of the interior is not necessarily original to the building’s earliest period, noting that alterations had been made over decades while the property was in municipal use and later private hands.

Simon said the project followed a lengthy process rather than a sudden push “overnight”.

Discussions to acquire the property began in January 2024, with the purchase finalised in October the same year. The project then proceeded through architects, structural engineers and submissions to the Swakopmund aesthetics committee.

Simon said the aesthetics committee approved the plans in January 2025, after which the submission was sent to the NHC. According to him, the council’s response arrived several months later than expected, delaying the project by about a year.

Objections

NHC heritage officer Jurgen Kuhanga explained that the objection is based on the scale of the proposed demolition and the precedent it could create for other heritage sites.

He previously told this publication the council is “partly objecting because they are proposing to demolish 90% of that building” and warned against allowing “demolition of such a building with that high magnitude degrading”.

Darmesh countered that there are numerous buildings in Namibia that have gone through the same process and that the approach is used worldwide, including on buildings significantly older than the one in question.

“We are trying to do all we can to preserve that heritage aspect of the building,” he said. “If the development is not approved, what is the alternative? With all due respect to the opposing views, ‘do nothing’ is not an option."

He added: "And who will be responsible if the building collapses by itself given the wear and tear of 120 years? Let alone the fact that it’s a privately owned property and if the development is stopped, then the owner will have no incentive to upkeep a degrading and unusable structure.”