There are buildings and then there are institutions.
La Concorde is not just another office block on Main Road in Paarl. It is a concrete memory, a historical statement and now, thanks to the right developer at the right time, a second act done properly.
Before La Concorde became a development opportunity, before it became a conversation about premium office space or asset repositioning, it was the beating administrative heart of one of South Africa’s most important agricultural strongholds — the KWV.
You cannot talk about KWV without understanding what it meant to this country. For decades, KWV was more than a wine body. It was the backbone of the South African wine industry. It regulated production, stabilised prices and shaped how wine moved from farm to market. If you were part of the wine industry, KWV was part of your story.
When it built its head office in Paarl circa the 1950s, it wasn’t just about needing space, it was about securing a presence.
Construction began in 1956 and by 1958, La Concorde stood completed — a bold, deliberate building designed to reflect both authority and heritage.
KWV certainly didn’t cut corners. The architecture drew from the Cape Dutch vernacular with its thick walls, symmetry and gables. This was a reinterpretation rather than a copy-and-paste of history. A modern building for its time, rooted in tradition but clearly looking forward.
Every detail of the building tells a story. Take the front gable (picture a simple house a child would draw — a square with a triangle on top. That triangle? That’s the gable). At first glance, it is beautiful. But when you look closer, it becomes something else entirely.
The sculptural work was done by Florencio Cuairan, a Spanish artist who spent more than two decades in South Africa. He modelled the pediment in clay before casting it, embedding mythology, symbolism and local references into the façade.
At the centre sits Ganymede from Greek mythology, carried by an eagle — a symbol of elevation, of offering, of something being lifted to a higher place. Around him are cherubs, vines, barrels and even Cape lions. It is art, yes, but it is also narrative.
There is a detail that makes it deeply human. One of the cherubs was modelled on a real child from Paarl. A girl whose likeness was immortalised in concrete, visible decades later if you know where to look.
That is what makes buildings like this so special and different. They carry people inside them.
Over time, like many large institutional buildings, La Concorde evolved. Wings were added and offices expanded. By the 1970s, the building had outgrown its original footprint, with extensions built to accommodate leadership and operations.
Then, slowly, things changed and KWV reduced its footprint. Parts of the building stood underused.
By 2016, ownership had evolved and by 2018, sections were being leased out. The tennis courts became parking areas. The building was standing but it had lost its centre of gravity.
Generally speaking, this is usually where the story goes wrong. This is the part where buildings get stripped, chopped up or turned into something disconnected from what they were originally designed for.
Thankfully, that is not what happened here.
In 2020, Giflo Property Developers stepped in. And what it has done since is something I wish more developers understood: they listened to the building and acknowledged its story before trying to change it.
It didn’t arrive with a wrecking ball mentality; it arrived with respect. Michiel Scharrighuisen, one of the two founding brothers of Giflo Property Developers, said: “When we first walked into La Concorde, we knew this wasn’t a building you impose yourself on. It tells you what it needs.
“Our role was never to change its identity but to reveal it again and make sure it can carry that identity forward for another generation.”
Starting with an infrastructure upgrade: more than 200 air-conditioning units replaced, thousands of square metres of new carpeting installed, electrical rewiring and solar and battery systems added to future-proof the building.
The Kiaat front door remains there, along with the yellowwood boardroom, the Roodeberg room and the grand entrance hall. The bronze railings are polished regularly. Even the façade is maintained under strict heritage oversight, with every crack carefully repaired and every surface properly treated.
There is a strong sense of stewardship over cosmetic-focused design and maintenance. And that is why La Concorde today feels different. It’s confidently old but working as a modern commercial building should.
Which brings me to what it is becoming: Phase 2.
Now the story moves from preservation to positioning. Giflo Property Developers will be building basement parking, a rooftop restaurant and an additional four storeys of contemporary premium-grade office space on an underused part of the site, elevating the asset to a level the Winelands has not seen before.
I don’t say this lightly: this building has the potential to become the “Waterfront of the Winelands” as far as premium office space goes.
“There’s a gap in the Winelands for truly premium office space that still has soul,” said Scharrighuisen.
“Phase 2 is about delivering that, a space where top-tier businesses can operate at a global standard but in an environment that feels rooted, intentional and unapologetically Paarl.”
He goes on to discuss where a law firm can establish a presence in Paarl without compromising on quality. Besides Val de Vie, there aren’t many other premium office options in the vicinity.
The premium office precinct is the perfect set-up for asset managers, private banks, family offices, auditing firms or high-end advisory firms wanting to position themselves within proximity to Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Cape Town but set up shop in something distinct. A place where they can firm up an identity in a central location.
La Concorde is not another glass-box office park. She has character, scale and history that you cannot replicate, no matter how big your budget. Importantly, it offers a setting that makes people feel something when they arrive.
We often reduce buildings to rental rates per square metre, parking ratios and yield profiles. Yes, those things are essential for good business. But the best buildings, the ones that hold value over time, are the ones that people connect to.
Giflo Property Developers has taken a heritage asset that could easily have been neglected and instead positioned it for another 50 years of relevance.
And in doing so, it has given Paarl an iconic building that remembers where it came from, while making space for what comes next.
And that, in property, is about as close as you get to getting it right.
The office park in Paarl has character, scale and history that cannot be replicated. Developers have listened to the building and acknowledged its story
