Following a years-long dispute over land use compliance with the Stellenbosch Municipality, the owners of the Root44 Wine Emporium and its weekend market are putting the winelands property up for sale, News24 says.

The bidding process started on 31 July and is being handled by Galetti Corporate Real Estate.

In 2009, the Stellenbosch Municipality granted approval to Daxcon Development Trust (DDT), the owners of the property, for the wine emporium, which was pitched as a showcase for winelands’ products and food.

According to Galetti, the municipality approved a temporary five-year permit that allowed for a market on the property.

This became the weekend Root44 Market.

After the market’s permit lapsed in 2017, DDT attempted to formalise land rights for a permanent market, but clashed with the municipality’s zoning strategy, which aims to prevent unregulated commercial zones and urban sprawl in rural Stellenbosch. 

The municipality argued the property could either be used as a wine emporium or as a market, but not both, according to a 2021 Stellenbosch Municipality statement.

This led to an ongoing land use dispute, which finally resulted in the owners putting the 5.1 hectare winelands property up for sale.

‘The time has come for (...) someone with a clear vision, who is willing to continue to work with the municipality to find a resolution on the matter, to take over the property,’ said Dax Hunt, developer of Root44.

Full News24 report