Neighbourgood's Murray Clark turns neglected Cape Town buildings into homes and hubs
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Neighbourgood SA is converting the former Happy Rhino Hotel and Backpackers on Cape Town's Loop Street into 130 long-term rental units, the latest step in chief executive Murray Clark's urban regeneration drive.
Cape Town's property landscape is changing one neglected building at a time, and entrepreneur Murray Clark is betting that old spaces can have a new life. His company, Neighbourgood SA, has built a business around transforming underused properties into places where people can live, work, eat and socialise.
His latest project is unfolding on Loop Street in the city's central business district, where an abandoned former backpackers is being converted into 130 long-term rental units. In 2026, Clark and his partners bought the former Happy Rhino Hotel and Backpackers after the building had been left empty, following the eviction of an illegal tenant who had reportedly been subletting the space and left rooms filled with rubbish.
Clark's team spent six weeks removing truckloads of waste before renovation work could properly get underway on the structurally sound building. The redevelopment will see new electrical systems, plumbing and ceilings installed throughout the 130 units, with the ground floor redesigned as a neighbourhood hub.
The Loop Street project is far from Clark's only Cape Town venture. He says the business has grown into a R1.3 billion portfolio across two continents, including a planned R200 million Neighbourgood East City development with more than 140 apartments expected to be available for purchase from September, and the former Stanhope Shopping Centre in Claremont, acquired in 2025 for R84 million.
Clark, who has attracted more than 44,000 Instagram followers by documenting his property projects, says buildings should offer more than simply four walls. His property journey has not been without setbacks: in 2019 he and a business partner launched Good Woodstock, a 2,000-square-metre concept combining a food hall, co-working space, wellness offering, bar and coffee shop, which closed after just over six months following a dispute with the landlord and investors, costing the team more than R3 million of their own capital.