thryve
August 5th, 2005, 12:46 AM
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/mscsthumbnail.aspx?refId=264151&refRef=img
NAME: FOURWAYS PIAZZA
LOCATION: FOURWAYS, GREATER JOHANNESBURG
STATUS: PROPOSED
FLOORS: 20
HEIGHT: TBA
USE: MIXED-USE
FOURWAYS, Johannesburg, is being touted as the new Sandton but not everyone is thrilled with the idea.
A luxurious 20-storey development of the trendy mixed-use type — shops grouped with apartments — is planned opposite Montecasino.
However, residents say the R300-million project will be too high, will affect the traffic flow and is simply not needed.
If the Fourways Piazza gets the go-ahead from the council, the 30000m˛ development on the corner of Witkoppen Road and William Nicol Drive will contain a five-star hotel, shops, 100 upmarket apartments and restaurants opening onto a square.
And if that sounds a lot like Nelson Mandela Square and Melrose Arch, that’s the intention.
Chris Harris, director of Syndev Properties, said: "We are looking at doing 20 storeys around a piazza like Sandton Square.
"The site is perfect for a mixed-use development and it will work just as well as it works at Sandton and Melrose Arch.
"This is the new Sandton. Having a higher concentration of people prevents urban sprawl.
"There is huge interest in the project. If we wanted we could fill the building tomorrow," he said.
Businessman Andy Dott, who lives in the area, supports the project. "With regard to this particular site, the last vacant stand on one of Sandton’s busiest corners, it would be naive to even dream that it is not going to be developed to its full potential," he said.
Restaurateur Simon MacLennan said he looked forward to being a tenant. "The site is a dust-bowl, in a commercial node where existing developments are particularly ugly, whereas the piazza appears to be quite pleasing," said MacLennan.
Harris said the project was still in its infancy. "All that we have is a model and a pretty picture," he said.
But he admitted R7.5-million had already been spent on installing storm-water services and levelling the site. He said if the piazza was not approved, he would opt for a different development.
However, if it is approved, building will begin early next year and be finished towards the end of 2007.
Denis Hunt, councillor for the area, lodged the only formal objection with the council.
"There is a big difference between what developers want and what the city can accommodate. I do not think a piazza is something that Fourways needs.
"My concern is that once you have one tall building you set a precedent, and we’ll have a heap of them."
Harris, however, said the height wasn’t a concern: "We are matching the levels of the Palazzo Hotel at Montecasino."
Chris Brooker, chairman of the Fourways Residents’ Association, said if Harris had not applied for permission during the December holidays, it would have also lodged an objection.
"The plans are inappropriate in scale. They are also insensitive to the environment and to traffic congestion in the area," he said.
Harris retaliated by saying that Syndev had submitted a traffic impact assessment.
"It is up to authorities to sort out bottlenecks — we supply demand.
"Everyone blames developers, but we pay our service contributions and it is up to the city council to sort out the infrastructure."
NAME: FOURWAYS PIAZZA
LOCATION: FOURWAYS, GREATER JOHANNESBURG
STATUS: PROPOSED
FLOORS: 20
HEIGHT: TBA
USE: MIXED-USE
FOURWAYS, Johannesburg, is being touted as the new Sandton but not everyone is thrilled with the idea.
A luxurious 20-storey development of the trendy mixed-use type — shops grouped with apartments — is planned opposite Montecasino.
However, residents say the R300-million project will be too high, will affect the traffic flow and is simply not needed.
If the Fourways Piazza gets the go-ahead from the council, the 30000m˛ development on the corner of Witkoppen Road and William Nicol Drive will contain a five-star hotel, shops, 100 upmarket apartments and restaurants opening onto a square.
And if that sounds a lot like Nelson Mandela Square and Melrose Arch, that’s the intention.
Chris Harris, director of Syndev Properties, said: "We are looking at doing 20 storeys around a piazza like Sandton Square.
"The site is perfect for a mixed-use development and it will work just as well as it works at Sandton and Melrose Arch.
"This is the new Sandton. Having a higher concentration of people prevents urban sprawl.
"There is huge interest in the project. If we wanted we could fill the building tomorrow," he said.
Businessman Andy Dott, who lives in the area, supports the project. "With regard to this particular site, the last vacant stand on one of Sandton’s busiest corners, it would be naive to even dream that it is not going to be developed to its full potential," he said.
Restaurateur Simon MacLennan said he looked forward to being a tenant. "The site is a dust-bowl, in a commercial node where existing developments are particularly ugly, whereas the piazza appears to be quite pleasing," said MacLennan.
Harris said the project was still in its infancy. "All that we have is a model and a pretty picture," he said.
But he admitted R7.5-million had already been spent on installing storm-water services and levelling the site. He said if the piazza was not approved, he would opt for a different development.
However, if it is approved, building will begin early next year and be finished towards the end of 2007.
Denis Hunt, councillor for the area, lodged the only formal objection with the council.
"There is a big difference between what developers want and what the city can accommodate. I do not think a piazza is something that Fourways needs.
"My concern is that once you have one tall building you set a precedent, and we’ll have a heap of them."
Harris, however, said the height wasn’t a concern: "We are matching the levels of the Palazzo Hotel at Montecasino."
Chris Brooker, chairman of the Fourways Residents’ Association, said if Harris had not applied for permission during the December holidays, it would have also lodged an objection.
"The plans are inappropriate in scale. They are also insensitive to the environment and to traffic congestion in the area," he said.
Harris retaliated by saying that Syndev had submitted a traffic impact assessment.
"It is up to authorities to sort out bottlenecks — we supply demand.
"Everyone blames developers, but we pay our service contributions and it is up to the city council to sort out the infrastructure."