Reasons to invest in Jhb CBD now
Past City of Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, began a popular programme of expropriating abandoned and neglected buildings for conversion into residential accommodation to help ease demand for housing.
More than 500 buildings were selected to be inspected and considered for this purpose in a R200-million project, with many of them located in the inner city. Although the project experienced delays due to the reconstitution of the province’s Heritage Council taking longer than expected, that process is now completed and there is a new mayor in place to drive the project with fresh energy.
While these conversions will address the pressure of urban migration and demand for affordable accommodation, corporate conversions and refurbishments continue to create and link nodes within the Johannesburg CBD with the aim of creating a functioning, liveable city in the mould of New York.
According to Alfonso Botha, who redeveloped The Franklin, an apartment hotel building which straddles Newtown and the inner city, the beauty of the current spate of redevelopment of the CBD is that many of the shell buildings awaiting conversion or refurbishment are available at lower prices than the prime real estate of Sandton or Rosebank, which has ensured a vibrant and diverse collection of projects from developers who don’t need the deep pockets of listed property companies.
The Franklin, which is 85% complete in its conversion from the old Ernst & Young offices to plush apartment suites for both long and short-term stays, stands facing a precinct FNB is rejuvenating through its Bank City concept. He aims to link The Franklin and other properties he has developed in the area with FNB’s newly renovated corridor, through to the Mining District and its historical attractions, such as the Mandela Tambo law offices, mine headgear and Mapungubwe golden rhino statue.
Ultimately, this is the vision of several of the banks and other corporates which are effectively sweeping their doorsteps: a revitalised inner city with retail tenants, services, residential and temporary accommodation and a thriving nightlife. From their own positions across the CBD, both ABSA and Standard Bank have similar plans.
Botha plans to renovate his extension of the Bank City precinct with restaurants and entertainment venues, a coffee shop as well as retail and services outlets to cater for the business clientele moving through Bank City every day.
Bank City will soon include a Food Lover’s Market, a Col’cacchio, Mugg & Bean, Popeye Chicken and more. In a city currently known for being deserted after dark, such redevelopment will be a game-changer.
He cites the now-closed Kapitan’s restaurant, founded in 1887, at which a young Nelson Mandela used to eat lunch regularly in the 1950s. The old Kapitan’s venue is a block away from The Franklin, and Botha has plans to open a restaurant at The Franklin that embodies and regales the history of the legendary Kapitans to revive its legacy and boost tourist footfall in the precinct.
While the struggles of retail tenants at Maboneng are well documented, Botha says once critical scale has been achieved and more business drivers are in place, Maboneng will bounce back, and the interlinking precincts will be able to feed off each other. “Bank City has 11 000 people coming in and out every day, while Melrose Arch has around 3000. This puts into perspective the potential for what is happening in the inner city,” he says.
“The inner city has its challenges and pockets of issues, but precinct by precinct it differs. Hillbrow is not Braamfontein is not Newtown. We have to focus on linking these precincts and fixing the issues together with the City. Tourism will be another dimension of the benefits that will come from fixing and securing the inner city,” Botha says.
One of the most significant changes for inner city redevelopment, and which has contributed significantly to the resurgence of the Rand Club, is the rise of Uber and other e-hailing services. According to Botha, this has made a city notorious for its lack of parking and traffic issues much more accessible. “With businesspeople commuting into Bank City, we can achieve 90% occupancy during the week at The Franklin,” he says.