“Please Make the Building Actually Colourful”: Abandoned Cape Town Hotel Gets 130-Unit Makeover

• Murray Clark, CEO of Neighbourgood SA, bought the derelict Happy Rhino Hotel in Cape Town's CBD in 2026 with a group of partners
• The building sat empty after an illegal tenant was evicted, leaving every room filled with rubbish that took six weeks to clear
• Clark's renovation plans include 130 long-term rental units, a café, a bar and a coworking space on the ground floor

Murray Clark, entrepreneur and CEO of Neighbourgood SA, is turning one of Cape Town's forgotten buildings into something the city desperately needs. In 2026, he and a group of partners purchased the old Happy Rhino Hotel and Backpackers on Loop Street, right in the heart of the Cape Town CBD, and are converting it into 130 long-term rental units.

The building had been sitting completely empty before the purchase. An illegal tenant had been subletting the property, and when liquidators secured an eviction order, the person left in a hurry, leaving every single room packed with rubbish. Clark and his team spent six weeks hauling truckload after truckload of trash out through the front door before any real work could begin.

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Cape Town's rental crisis gets an answer

The project comes at a time when Cape Town's property market is under serious pressure. Western Cape property prices surged by 7.5% year-on-year in December 2025, and middle-class buyers are increasingly being priced out of central areas and pushed further into the outer suburbs. Long-term rental options in the CBD remain scarce, making this kind of redevelopment significant.

Clark shared in the video that despite the state of the building when they took it over, the structure itself was sound. New electrics, new plumbing and new ceilings are going in across all 130 units. The ground floor is being opened up to become a neighbourhood hub.

Building something people will actually use

Clark, who has built a following of over 44,000 on Instagram by documenting his building projects, is sharing the entire renovation process online one floor at a time. The response has been enthusiastic, with many viewers already invested in watching the transformation unfold.

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South Africans in the comments section on the Instagram page had plenty to say:

@kimmie_swani:

"Make it affordable for South Africans! Give us something."

@fitnesscoach_abudhabi:

"Looking forward to seeing the renovations."

@wimcoiffeur:

"10/10."

@domza_wp:

"Following for sure, might come visit too."

@divax201:

"Great news."

@teghanshaer:

"Please make the building actually colourful and not millennial grey!!! I'm begging you!!!!"

Watch the renovation walkthrough that got South Africans talking.

More stories on SA property and construction

• A Johannesburg building was left badly damaged after fierce winds tore through the city, with footage of the aftermath going viral.
• Another story gave a peek inside the stunning newly built mansion belonging to a Springbok star and his wife in Paarl, Western Cape.
• Briefly News also reported on a land rush near Pretoria that has property experts warning of a looming bubble, as speculators chase student accommodation returns.

Source: Briefly News