Great stuff guys. I was at Arts on Main on Sunday for lunch at Canteen and it was packed. So too were the cafes on the ground floor of the 12 Decades Hotel. Anyone who says the CBD is dead is an idiot. Yes it is not the financial district anymore but it is going to increasingly become the creative hub of the city with some major corporate headquarters thrown in. Dont forget BHP Billiton, SAB, Liberty, Anglo American, Zurich Insurance, FNB, ABSA, Chamber of Mines, Transnet, the Gauteng Government are all still based in town so it is still a major commercial hub.

Great stuff guys. I was at Arts on Main on Sunday for lunch at Canteen and it was packed. So too were the cafes on the ground floor of the 12 Decades Hotel. Anyone who says the CBD is dead is an idiot. Yes it is not the financial district anymore but it is going to increasingly become the creative hub of the city with some major corporate headquarters thrown in. Dont forget BHP Billiton, SAB, Liberty, Anglo American, Zurich Insurance, FNB, ABSA, Chamber of Mines, Transnet, the Gauteng Government are all still based in town so it is still a major commercial hub.

Awesome! Did you take any pics?




And thanks for the comments Briker and Lydon!

Went to night of a 1000 drawings in Braamfontein a couple of months ago.

Lamunu, at night. Bad quality, but you get the idea.
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Doubleshot, Juta Street. Best coffee in Joburg, by far. And great tea.
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Some random pics.
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Excellent Jakes!

153 Smit Street - From old to new


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For the last few months we have been working on a very exciting project in Braamfontein. Elegantly cantilevering over an existing structure that dates way-back, we’ve built a little box that offers a picture-window view of Johannesburg CBD. The box was designed by Bryan Dunstan in collaboration with Play Braamfontein, and consists of a delicate steel structure, clad in fibre cement panels, perched atop the existing building at 153 Smit Street. The third story height not only shows off our city skyline in all its glory, but also offers a more intimate than expected view of life on Nelson Mandela Bridge.

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The little building that was used as the base for the new project has been here for quite some time. In the picture above, showing Queen Elizabeth Bridge in the background, it is possible to make out the western wall. Before any of the taller buildings had been built in the area, and long before Nelson Mandela Bridge, 153 Smit Street has been standing.

The reuse of an old existing structure, re-imagined for contemporary use, speaks greatly of our intentions here. These spaces and buildings already exist within our urban fabric, and lie dormant in wait to be picked up and noticed again. New spaces and additions like this are if anything aspirational - an invitation for people to see the city anew. They hope to instill the same sense of ambition that led to the project’s inception and change people’s perceptions of what our city is, and what it is becoming.

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Construction itself was an exciting event, with the entire structure being assembled inside a workshop, before being dismantled for the trip to site, craned onto the building, and reassembled once again.

We’re very proud of this little building, and we hope it is a sign of things to come.

_______________________________________


This is a blog entry from http://www.playbraamfontein.co.za/

loved

That is pretty :cheers:

^^
Definitely!

Main Street Life apartments

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And some more ... they all came out small!

All from the Joburg city website - check it out -

http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=394&Itemid=144

http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/galleries/2010/inner_city/inner-city-6_tb.jpg

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http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/galleries/2010/inner_city/inner-city-5_tb.jpg

The Fashion shack

http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/galleries/2010/inner_city/jhb_inner-city-1_tb.jpg

Ellis Park precinct

http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/galleries/2010/inner_city/inner-city-15_tb.jpg

http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/galleries/2010/gallery_trees.html#

Wow guys...you making me fall inlove with my city again...

Giant truck a symbol of Joburg inner-city renewal
MONDAY JAN 30, 2012

She really is a giant, an artwork in the inner city that you can't miss. She has stood in the same spot for a few months now.

http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/resource/truck.jpg
The giant iron ire truck on a street corner of the South Western Improvement District.

People have been walking and driving past, wondering what she is doing there, parked on the corner of Usher and Ntemi Piliso streets in the Johannesburg city centre.

You wouldn't, after all, expect a monster, yellow truck at least two office floors high to make itself home on a rundown corner of the inner city.

But it is for this very reason that the number 10 unit righaul truck has been placed opposite the Westgate transport hub.

Number 10 is the newest member of the "street furniture" that has been placed around streets in the southwestern quadrant of the inner city as part of an urban-renewal project to reverse urban decay.

The idea of bringing a giant iron ore truck and parking it off on a street corner was conceptualised by the South Western Improvement District, a voluntary organisation made up of businesses in the area.

They have decided to beautify their section of town and bring people and business back to the area.

Because many of the mining houses, the Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers are situated along and near Main Street, it was decided to bring the history of the mines to people who walk the streets in and around the area.

Jeannette Hofsajer-van Wyk, who heads the chamber's information services, said that placing these mining-related artefacts in the public domain allowed ordinary people to interact with mining symbols.

The district said it had asked Anglo American's Kumba Iron Ore if it had a retired truck to donate to the project.

Kumba CEO Chris Griffith said No 10, a 125-ton truck, had worked in their Sishen mine in the Northern Cape for two decades.

The 125-ton trucks are now retired and the mine uses 350ton haul trucks – double the size of No 10.

Moving the truck from its Northern Cape home had not been an easy task.

Griffith said it had taken six days, and No 10 had to be dismantled into two parts – first the wheels, then the skip on top – and placed on large haul trucks that had to manoeuvre through Johannesburg's busy streets.

Cranes then lifted the two parts and placed them in their final home.

Starting next month, some of the old buildings opposite the truck will be torn down to make way for a multibillionrand development called Stimela Square.

Daily News

Source: IOL Property (http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/giant_truck_a_symbol_of)

So glad that they are mentioning Stimela Square. Would be amazing if this goes ahead!

Here is the link to the Sitimela Sqaure developers, who are also doing the Alice Lane offices...

http://www.abland.co.za/commercial/stimela_square.html

That Stimela Square development looks fantastic!



Here's a cute map I found of the Jo'burg CBD, they has been a recent initiative (a real one) to bring in more tourists to the CBD.

http://www.joburgcentral.co.za/images/udz_small.jpg


I've found more sources for projects and info.. more to come

Here is the link to the Sitimela Sqaure developers, who are also doing the Alice Lane offices...

http://www.abland.co.za/commercial/stimela_square.html

And 22 Bree in Cape Town! :)

That Stimela Square development looks fantastic!



Here's a cute map I found of the Jo'burg CBD, they has been a recent initiative (a real one) to bring in more tourists to the CBD.

http://www.joburgcentral.co.za/images/udz_small.jpg


I've found more sources for projects and info.. more to come
Keep them coming buddy...

I'm Still Standing from Play Braamfontein


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The Alexander Theatre represents a proud achievement in Play Braamfontein’s story, and will always be looked upon fondly. This magnificent theatre, which first opened its doors in 1951, came perilously close to ruin before being carefully restored to its past glories by Adam Levy. With its wide variety of spaces the theatre has become a hugely versatile venue that can accommodate functions both big and small, loud or intimate.

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The theatre was, and still is, an important part of Braamfontein’s theatrical and cultural heritage that also includes the WITS theatre and the Joburg Civic. Perhaps the days of the grand theatrical production being held at the Alex are starting to fade, but the city, now more than ever, is in need of unique venues and memorable experiences. It is perhaps in this regard that the theatre should best be thought of - as a versatile venue, kept going by passionate individuals, in a world gone topsy turvy.

The history of Joburg’s theatre and cinema buildings is rich and diverse, but with the tumultuous past of the inner-city, the advent of the modern shopping mall and cinema complex, these old buildings are quite literally of a different time - and many of them have disappeared before our eyes. Of the three buildings shown below, only the outer shell of one survives. The rest are, well, history.

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Whilst it would be naïve not to acknowledge the changing times and the difficult nature of keeping these buildings alive, it is startling to think how easy it would be for all of them to no longer exist - and that is a somewhat unbearable thought. As seen below, The Alexander Theatre has more than enough space, more than enough variety, and more than enough character, to hold its own as a contemporary cultural centre and premium entertainment venue.

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His Majesties is technically still there, at least the building. Don't forget about the lonesome Alhambra in Doornfontein. And the Windybrow (being restored). The Victory is still going.

don't forget the night market tonight at arts on main... a super fun evening in joburg.

^^

I've seen pictures! It does look fun! I think they were poted on the last page.

New art mural at the corner of Fox St and Kruger St.


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like to see the skollies try steal that for its scrap metal value
Giant truck a symbol of Joburg inner-city renewal
MONDAY JAN 30, 2012

She really is a giant, an artwork in the inner city that you can't miss. She has stood in the same spot for a few months now.

http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/resource/truck.jpg
The giant iron ire truck on a street corner of the South Western Improvement District.

People have been walking and driving past, wondering what she is doing there, parked on the corner of Usher and Ntemi Piliso streets in the Johannesburg city centre.

You wouldn't, after all, expect a monster, yellow truck at least two office floors high to make itself home on a rundown corner of the inner city.

But it is for this very reason that the number 10 unit righaul truck has been placed opposite the Westgate transport hub.

Number 10 is the newest member of the "street furniture" that has been placed around streets in the southwestern quadrant of the inner city as part of an urban-renewal project to reverse urban decay.

The idea of bringing a giant iron ore truck and parking it off on a street corner was conceptualised by the South Western Improvement District, a voluntary organisation made up of businesses in the area.

They have decided to beautify their section of town and bring people and business back to the area.

Because many of the mining houses, the Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers are situated along and near Main Street, it was decided to bring the history of the mines to people who walk the streets in and around the area.

Jeannette Hofsajer-van Wyk, who heads the chamber's information services, said that placing these mining-related artefacts in the public domain allowed ordinary people to interact with mining symbols.

The district said it had asked Anglo American's Kumba Iron Ore if it had a retired truck to donate to the project.

Kumba CEO Chris Griffith said No 10, a 125-ton truck, had worked in their Sishen mine in the Northern Cape for two decades.

The 125-ton trucks are now retired and the mine uses 350ton haul trucks – double the size of No 10.

Moving the truck from its Northern Cape home had not been an easy task.

Griffith said it had taken six days, and No 10 had to be dismantled into two parts – first the wheels, then the skip on top – and placed on large haul trucks that had to manoeuvre through Johannesburg's busy streets.

Cranes then lifted the two parts and placed them in their final home.

Starting next month, some of the old buildings opposite the truck will be torn down to make way for a multibillionrand development called Stimela Square.

Daily News

Source: IOL Property (http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/giant_truck_a_symbol_of)

Must read article!!

The art of Johannesburg

Johannesburg dates its beginnings to the discovery of gold in 1886. Its downtown, where skyscrapers tower over deep mines, was abandoned by business in recent decades, and squatters turned the office towers into high-rise slums.

But now, as the city celebrates its 125th birthday, creative South Africans are seeing gold in warehouses and cheap office space, and they're revitalising neighbourhoods with galleries, museums, shops, studios, clubs and restaurants.

When Fiona Rankin-Smith was making plans to renovate an office building to house a major new museum, she thought she'd be building a lonely outpost for art in gritty central Johannesburg. But nine years and 38 million rand (about $4.55 million) later, as she prepared to move nearly 10,000 African paintings, sculpture and other pieces out of storage and into the sleek new Wits Art Museum, she finds South Africa's economic hub is returning to its roots.

"There's this whole groundswell," said Rankin-Smith, the Wits' curator, as she surveyed the lively street scene on downtown's west side from her building's glass walls.

When the museum opens early next year in the Braamfontein neighbourhood, its neighbours will include private galleries drawn to the area in part by plans for the Wits, which is owned by Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand.

One side of the glass and concrete museum features brickwork that resembles basket-weave. Brass knobs dot another facade covered in blue tiles from the 1970s-era building's original exterior, a pattern inspired by Zulu beadwork from the museum that incorporated British brass buttons.

Like much of downtown Johannesburg, Rankin-Smith says the museum is inspired by its past, and optimistic about the future.

"There's these subtle references that refer back all the time," Rankin-Smith said.

Johannesburg's nickname is Egoli or "city of gold," and antiquarian book dealer Jonathan Klass says downtown draws its resilience from the energy that made it a mining capital and from "its ability to change."

"People are accepting the change and trying to create the change and go with it," he said, "rather than trying to live in the past."

Collectors Treasury, the shop started by Klass, his brother Geoff and their late mother, has had homes in several buildings in and around central Johannesburg since 1974. The brothers have seen other attempts to revive downtown, and praise the latest because it is bringing back residents as well as business. An area that was a business district for whites under apartheid now is home to a vibrant multinational, multi-racial community, including Africans from elsewhere on the continent.

Collectors Treasury's home since 1991 is a hoarder's paradise, eight stories of books and other antiques in the former headquarters of a company that imported printing presses. It's located at the gateway of an eastern downtown neighbourhood developers call Maboneng Precinct. Maboneng means "place of light" in Sotho, one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

Renowned South African artist William Kentridge, whose grandfather once had law offices in downtown Johannesburg, has moved into a studio in a complex of Maboneng warehouses that now houses hip shops and apartments. The neighbourhood has an art house cinema.

New York-born musician Joao Orecchia organised a series of concerts in Maboneng over the last year in not-quite renovated buildings. Audiences climbing six stories to a rooftop for one concert could see the rubble of what had been the elevator from the staircase wrapped around the shaft. Once on the roof, they were captivated by the view, Orecchia said. And while the site was forbidding then, the building will soon be renovated into homes and studios for musicians and artists, he said.

Artists "aren't afraid to come and find a space and do something," Orecchia said.

"As an artist, you almost have an obligation to contribute to that picture of what Johannesburg is."

Trendy clubs and restaurants are popping up to serve gallery hoppers. At Randlords, safari chic decor of antelope skin rugs and beads is livened by flashes of humour, like framed lacy panties at the ladies' room door and framed briefs at the men's.

The club on the roof of a 22-story office tower was named to evoke the mining magnates who made their fortunes on the rand - or ridge - of rock underpinning Johannesburg. It opened as a bar when the World Cup soccer games came to South Africa in 2010. Now it hosts private parties, and the occasional cocktail evening open to the public.

Margeaux Swartz, a 27-year-old Johannesburg native who works for South Point, the property company that developed Randlords, said she's seen wary looks on the faces of guests who park in the building garage and are whisked 22 stories to the club in an express elevator.

"Your initial reaction when you're coming into the area is, like, 'Lock your doors. Be careful,'" Swartz said.

"But the minute you come up here ... it's so inspiring. And you're at ease."

Randlord's walls are glass, so visitors feel they can almost step into the sweeping view. To the south, almost blending into the man-made mountains of mining waste, is the 90,000-seat stadium the shape and colour of a traditional African clay pot built for the World Cup. Just beyond the stadium is Soweto, the township that was a dormitory for blacks under apartheid, with its iconic sites tracing the history of the struggle against racist rule, including a former home of Nelson Mandela.

The Nelson Mandela Bridge stretches from the foot of Randlords across a river of railway tracks to Newtown, a performing arts hub. Newer dance and concert venues have been established around Newtown's venerable Market Theatre, where political plays for interracial audiences once challenged apartheid thinking.

All these sites are easy to reach thanks to a rapid bus system known as Rea Vaya that got up and running in time for the World Cup. Soon a central station on the bus routes will be connected to a new light rail to the airport.

Laura Vercueil, spokeswoman for Johannesburg's tourism promotion agency, traces the city's renewal to 1994, when apartheid ended, and planners began dismantling strict regulations that had zoned the city centre for whites and for business. Now, business, residential and entertainment mix along with the races.

Vercueil encourages foreigners and locals alike to discover the city, either by hopping on and off Rea Vaya buses, or on foot with one of the city's new walking tour businesses. Urban pioneers can shop for everything from African herbal remedies to high fashion from local designers. They can marvel at the array of art deco buildings, take in a show at the Market or Braamfontein's civic theatre, and lunch at Guildhall, a pub that's almost as old as the city.

"A lot of the reluctance to venture downtown has to do with perceptions of crime, and some of those are quite real," Vercueil said. But she said local government is "working to clean up the city and make it a safe and more desirable place."

Rose Sizini, a 27-year-old bank marketing manager, was recently browsing a local designer's clothes at a market in a garage near the soon-to-be-completed Wits Art Museum. She said she was drawn by an "artistic flair" she hoped more people would experience.

"They need to come here and explore it," she said.

Johannesburg, like cities around the world, is struggling to get the balance right, making a city centre that is comfortable for the affluent as well as the poor and struggling middle classes who have made downtown their home since apartheid ended. And there is still plenty of work to be done.

Curator Rankin-Smith nodded at broken windows in the floors above the space she has renovated for the Wits Art Museum.

"Hopefully," she said, "we've started something."



Source (http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/travel/a/-/more/12459113/the-art-of-johannesburg/)

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2012 is going to be an exciting year for Braamfontein. With the ongoing popularity of the Neighbourgoods Market, more and more people are succumbing to the allure of the city and coming to the realization that there is no better place to be.

This year we will be starting work on a new residential development at 73 Juta Street, and our first since the memorable 155 Smit Street. Needless to say we’re quite excited about it. At the moment we’re in the early stages of development, but we will hopefully have more information for you soon - stay tuned!

____________________________________

:banana:

62 Juta Street - Floors Available for Purchase

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62 Juta Street is situated next to the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge and offers superb views of Johannesburg CBD to the south.

The building has been subdivided into separate floors in a new sectional title scheme. Stevenson and the French Institute have already bought into the development by purchasing the ground, first and second floors. Currently the third, fourth and fifth floors are available for purchase. Each main floor plate is purchased alongside the corresponding toilet block that is situated in the main stairwell.

62 Juta Street offers a fantastic opportunity to invest in the rejuvenation of Braamfontein and to own space in what will be one of the most prestigious buildings in Johannesburg. The spaces are ideal for creative commercial enterprises and are versatile enough to accommodate both open plan and partitioned working environments.

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-PlayBraamfontein

^^

That building will look sweet once the top 3 floors are renovated (and the windows replaced)

It looks like quite a gateway building too...I'm glad it's getting a renovation!

It looks like quite a gateway building too...I'm glad it's getting a renovation!

I have been eyeing this building for EVER! Darn.

JMPJ-0CGmh8


zRaJka_1l28&feature=related

LADEN, thanks so much for posting those videos! Man, what a breath of fresh air, what positivity.

And look how much difference that woman and a few others have made, just incredible.

Just watching those videos has made me redouble my energy to keep improving our country.

I like the part where the security guy and the building tenants actually ask the city to help - and they did - cleaning up the streets and towing away abandoned vehicles etc It is a little spark like that which can generate a revival.

Love this


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it is better to rebuild Hillbrow and to restore its vibrant attractive of yesteryear.

A yoga center will be opening in April in the Maboneng Precinct


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Revolution House is complete.. look at these lofts!


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Source: MabonengPrecinct FB

That is pure industrial chic...totally dig the shower bath setup like its a steam room in a club!

What is the table though, does it have another purpose, or does it fold up or something?

I dunno :dunno:


Ask a hipster :P

Nice finishes, very nice looking bathroom and I especially like the ceilings! But gosh, it is TINY!

^^

Yep, most artsy studio apartments are small. I couldn't live in one but they are cool.

It's not THAT small.

^yes, these guys obviously havent lived in an asian studio before :lol:
In any case, the furnishing looks good, but the place looks cold and uncosy with those concrete ceilings and floors, almost incomplete.

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the fountain opposite the old post office.


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Nice, there's nothing more gratifying than seeing old buildings being maintained

Wowser! At first I thought that was a US city for some reason, and you were going to say this is how Joburg should look!
Really nice area, this buildings are gorgeous!

a good article talking about the wider CBD regeneration...

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-04-01-block-by-joburg-reclaims-its-downtown

In a shell of a building, occupied by squatters for six years with no water or electricity, Johannesburg property developer Renney Plit sees nothing but opportunity.

Behind the piles of rubbish, much of it human waste, he sees new housing for South Africa's burgeoning middle class.

It's not just a dream. He's already transformed a similarly squalid complex nearby into a block of flats with a supermarket and playground.

"If you look at this particular area, the local community, even the local population wouldn't have come near it," said Plit, who runs Affordable Housing Company, which buys up empty buildings and converts them into flats.

"It was full of chop shops, chopping up stolen cars. There were squatters living in the park across the road from this building and there was sewage running down the streets, garbage, etc.

"Of course if you look at it today, it's totally transformed and that's what we focus on."

Downtown Johannesburg, once a bastion of apartheid South Africa, become a case study in urban decay in the 1990s as a shocking crime wave terrorised the city, leaving squatters to take over buildings that fell into squalor.

Most businesses and residents moved to safer neighbourhoods, leaving the city centre a place dominated by slumlords exploiting the poor.

But over the past decade, the city has made a concerted effort to reverse the decline. The Johannesburg Development Agency took charge of public spaces, and an Urban Development Zone offered tax breaks to develop certain neighbourhoods.

CONTINUES BELOW



Plit's company now owns 62 buildings that house 3 801 apartments and 379 shops, part of a broader trend of turning old buildings downtown into affordable housing.

"Some of the interesting things that have happened include the widespread conversion of dilapidated and vacant office buildings into affordable residential buildings with small, well-managed rental apartments," said Sharon Lewis, the Johannesburg Development Agency's chief of strategy.

Downtown revival
One of the most impressive examples is in Doornfontein, a gritty neighbourhood near the city centre, where a 26-storey building that once housed a bank has been transformed into 924 apartments. The high-rise had been vacant for 16 years.

The homes at 120 End Street aren't luxurious, but they all have a phone line, internet access and satellite television. The building is clean, and access is controlled by a biometric reader.

Rents run from R1 650 to R4 500 a month, targetting the country's growing middle class that often battles to find decent housing.

"By converting mainly derelict buildings into modern and well-designed rental apartments, we offer a quality lifestyle at an affordable price to the emerging middle class," Plit said.

But the transformation takes time. At his new project, a former furniture factory, it took six years to evict the 2 500 squatters. The clean-up alone will take weeks.

"Here they [tennants] had to pay up to R650 per head, and they got absolutely nothing," said Koos van der Schyff, Affordable Housing's area manager.

In a year, the company plans to offer rooms to single workers. They'll cost an extra R100 a month, but the apartments will include toilets, telephones and Internet access.

A dozen other companies are also pioneering the city's redevelopment, seeking to meet a growing demand for middle-class housing without the long commutes from the city's far-flung townships.

According to the JDA, whose work is complemented by community initiatives, the private sector has invested about R18 for every rand invested by government.

The city has no statistics on the redevelopment of buildings. But landscape architect Gerald Garner, who has written a book on the city's regeneration, estimates that up to one third of the city's buildings have been renovated over the past decade.

While posh lofts and trendy urban oases have drawn attention to downtown's revival, Garner said what's remarkable in Johannesburg is the effort to make the city liveable for a broader population.

"If we talk about regeneration, we are not talking about loft and First World accommodation but we talk about a successful city that meets the needs of the population," Garner said.

"Often, when you speak about regeneration, or gentrification, the poorest people have to move away," he said. "You cannot do that in Johannesburg." - AFP

theres excavation happening for a new building in newtown on president street near the flyover highway. next to the dance factory. anyone know whats being built?

also in newtown, theres pavement re-paving happening all over. looking good

and the department of agriculture on pritchard street has a sign board for a base redevelopment

^^ don't know buddy.

Wrong thread...

New life for Joburg's historic Stuttafords building
Thursday Apr 05, 2012

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3233/3027683931_3dc8ddf059_z.jpg

The historic but mothballed Stuttafords building on the corner of Pritchard and Rissik streets in the Joburg CBD is to receive a new lease of life.

The Stuttafords buildings was built in 1893 and was one of Joburg's first skyscrapers.

It is to be fully restored and converted into a 120-room hotel, while at the same time giving the inner city a major boost.

Three of the 10 storeys are to be opened as an international easygroup/Lonrho hotel - the first in Africa.

The easyhotels chain is said to offer no-frills accommodation of international standard at competitive prices, expected to be around R400 a night.

The building belongs to the Afhco group, which owns 62 properties in the inner city, many of which it has converted into affordable accommodation.

The Stuttafords building was one of the first skyscrapers in Joburg. Built in 1893 as an upmarket department store, it was a major landmark at the time.

Renney Plit of Afhco said the building had been standing empty for about 10 years. Retail shops, including a McDonald's outlet, are planned for the first two floors, with the hotel taking up the three floors above that.

"We hope to extend the hotel to the remaining six floors in years to come," said Plit.

"We are very exited that an international group is coming to the Joburg CBD. It is a big boost and shows the confidence people have in the city."

Work will start next month and the hotel is expected to receive its first guests in November.

"The inside of the building was stripped by squatters many years ago, so we could not save that, but we will restore the outside to its original condition," said Plit.

Sir Stelios Haji-ioannou, the chairman of easygroup, said he was delighted to bring the chain's first African hotel to Joburg.

"The city has a wealth of attractions and events of interest to both leisure and business visitors, and this new easyhotel will allow them to enjoy the best of what Johannesburg has to offer - without the expense.

"I'm confident that easyhotel fans will soon be putting South Africa on their destinations wish list."

Lonrho has signed a 30-year lease with Afhco for the site.

Afhco owns 3 800 affordable rental apartments and about 300 000m² of retail, commercial and light industrial space in the inner city.

It has a further 1 000 residential units under development for 2012, bringing its total residential rental portfolio to about 5 000 units, with a total value of about R1.6 billion.

The Star

153 Smit Street - From old to new


http://media.withtank.com/09e08e447c/image_2_copy.jpg




previous office BD studio did that :-D big up Bryan and Adam .....wonder if its become a nike concept store"not for public" now as planned

we were principle architects on basically everything on juta and smit street....adam levy's got some more projects in store so watch this space

A wander through JoziArticle By: Jean Liou
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 6:45 iAfrica

Once feared as a gangster's paradise, downtown Johannesburg's restored buildings, flowing fountains and sidewalk art are attracting an unusual breed of tourist - local pedestrians.
"I was born in Johannesburg, but I had never been to the city centre," said student James van Biljon on a guided Saturday stroll with his family.

Johannesburg's city centre was once the heart of apartheid South Africa. During the 1990s, the central banking district became a no-go area as crime soared and companies fled to safer neighbourhoods. They left behind empty buildings, sometimes occupied by squatters, falling into ruin.

But massive public and private investment - as well as an army of private security guards - have reversed the trend over the past decade. Old office buildings have been transformed into lofts, facades have been restored, once dry fountains flow again and scultptures now dot the sidewalks.
While big tour companies avoid the central business district to shield their guests from crime, smaller operators are springing up and offering walking tours that are catching on with locals looking to rediscover their own city.

"We decided that on a Saturday we would do a tour in the CBD. We hardly advertised and we had 28 people," said Jo Buitendach, who studied archeology but is now a full-time guide."Originally, (it was) mainly young people, from here. Young people of the suburbs have never seen their city, the city their parents talked about. But they have never been to it because they were told it's too dangerous."

Word of mouth piqued the interest of the older generation, and then foreign visitors. Companies have also started booking private tours.

"We have lived in Johannesburg for 22 years. We always drive through the centre, but we never had the chance to walk around," said Hester van Biljon, James's mother.

"And then I read an article on those tours in the newspaper, and I said 'let's do it!' We decided to bring the kids along."

Buitendach knows that her clients, especially from white suburbs, feel like intrepid pioneers. :nuts:

"It's particularly difficult to sell a tour which is a walking tour, where people are actually walking. It is so unusual here," she said.

"We wanted to see more"

And the city's fearsome reputation is slowly changing.

"When you come to Johannesburg for the first time, you are told: 'don't go, it's too dangerous!' But we wanted to see more," said Gavin Turner, a tourist from London.

Many typical tour companies simply drive through the CBD as they ferry guests to the Apartheid Museum, said Gerald Garner, who also runs walking tours.

"Walking... is the only way to experience the city," he said. "A lot of my clients come and rediscover their own city."

Many are surprised to find pedestrian streets, sidewalk cafes, stunning renovated buildings and art deco facades. There are some potholes in the pavements, and the homeless are still there. But there's also a strong African flavour in the city's street commerce, making it feel like one of the continent's vibrant cities.

"It is an incredible adventure for local people. It is as exciting as going overseas, since it is a totally other world at your doorstep," Garner said.

"Before starting my tours, I always ask if people have questions. At first, everybody was asking about security issues. And now it's less and less," he said.

The guides say they haven't had any problems, but they also steer clear of pockets where the city's regeneration hasn't yet taken hold.

For more information on walking tours, visit www.joburg.org.za.

In search of Joburg's condemned buildings

After three people were crushed in a Johannesburg building last week and the city committed to clearing condemned properties, GREG NICOLSON went in search of Jozi’s best dilapidated architecture. It’s a potent symbol for a voyeur of change.

On the corner of Twist and Wolmarans Streets in Joubert Park, Johannesburg, sits Lorna Court. Its facade has faded and the paint’s chipped. The doors on the balcony terraces have come off their hinges and the windows are broken.

Inside, debris covers the floor like a carpet and each room, bar the security guard’s, is blackened by smoke. On the fifth floor, the roof has caved in and weeds grow in rooms overlooking the park.

Seven years ago, says the guard who lived in the building, a man was fighting with his wife and used a gas funnel to set her alight. The building went with her and has been condemned ever since.

It’s a telling example of the city’s neglected beauty. After another Johannesburg building caved in on three people in search of scrap metal last week, I set out to catalogue some of the city’s most beautiful but condemned architecture.

Lorna Court, a block of apartments encapsulating all Johannesburg’s supposed potential to become the next Manhattan, stands for many as a symbol of the City of Gold’s decline.

Literary presenter Victor Dlamini said: “No one will ever know for sure what precipitated this exodus from this once hallowed city, but overnight, once prestigious office blocks and gleaming restaurants were left vacant, haunted by their quick fall from glory. Parking spaces that had once been reserved for shiny chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces were left to rot and decay as the offices were abandoned. The rush to flee the city led to a plethora of suburban office and residential developments in places like Sandton and Fourways.

“The departure of the city’s business for the suburbs had a devastating effect on the inner city as rents collapsed and restaurants, fine shops and nightlife spots closed in quick succession. The departure of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from its imposing building on Diagonal Street was probably the symbolic moment when the inner city became a ghost town.”

Buildings across the city serve as testament to the city’s glamorous past and current neglect. Opposite the Gauteng Legislature stands the imposing Rissik Street Post Office, built in 1897 and destroyed by a blaze in 2009. Behind a street fountain, the building’s gutted insides are visible through missing windows that climb towards the timeless clock tower. The building, unlike many others in Joburg, is undergoing developments.

Take a short walk down Rissik and the ground floor of apartment and office blocks have been concreted closed, with an occasional colonial building title hanging over a door, offering a glimpse of a half-destroyed building. On the brick wall of one condemned building, a Johannesburg Art City billboard towers over the street, next to floors of smashed windows.

After many of the moneyed residents fled, a list of opportunist developers, inspired officials and nostalgic community groups tried to “rejuvenate” what has always been and still remains a contested African city of capital and culture, a mimic of its European counterparts while at the same time a hub in the continent’s production.

In his state-of- the-city address, Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau lauded the new Maboneng precinct as a sign that the inner city is opening itself to those excluded after its “decline”. Optimists also point to Braamfontein, where developers have focused on delivering affordable accommodation to students and young professionals. The streets are generally clean and the areas developed by South Point offer a comfortable entry to the city for those who normally tread in the suburbs.

Heading east down Smit Street, a Tudor-style brick home stands on a corner before the Hillbrow Community Health Centre. Circled by overgrowing grass, it’s one of the few standalone homes so close to town. Tiles on part of the roof are missing and cracks run through the once-solid brick structure. On the footpath, behind a fence shielding the house from pedestrians, three men sit sniffing glue. Two begin to fight.

The lone house seems a symbol of change and contest. It’s a walk away from the lauded Braamfontein developments, across a bridge from the streets between Bree and Noord taxi ranks (dirty but not dilapidated), down the road from Hillbrow and a short drive from the Maboneng precinct. It’s an obvious choice for a smart developer, a potent symbol for a voyeur of change. DM

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-04-12-in-search-of-joburgs-condemned-buildings

Some great videos!


Urban Renewal in Hillbrow

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Joburg City Library Revival

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Thanks for sharing

The eKhaya project is quite awesome..

Its nice to see some of the buildings being turned around in Hillbrow.

The eKhaya project is quite awesome..

Its nice to see some of the buildings being turned around in Hillbrow.

It is great, and I like what the lady says at the end of the video.

Good international exposure for redevelopment around Main Street Life;

http://www.monocle.com/sections/business/Web-Articles/Main-Street-Life/

Another little snippet re Maboneng...

Jonathan Liebmann is the man behind Johannesburg’s Maboneng Precinct, a previously deteriorated neighbourhood that has now been upgraded into a vibrant community. During the recent World Economic Forum on Africa, held in Addis Ababa, Liebmann explained how he managed to transform the area.

Jonathan Liebmann
Four years ago I identified an area on the east side of the Johannesburg CBD that was previously degenerated and dilapidated. There was very bad crime. Locals and tourists wouldn’t go into the area. It was a complete no-go zone.
I saw this degeneration really as an opportunity and I started thinking of ideas of how it can become a new place for people to live, work and play.
I began to initially attract artists for my first development, which is called Arts on Main. I attracted a really major artist, his name is William Kentridge. Following his interest, many other leading institutions followed and eventually I had an artistic community that became my foundation for what I now call The Maboneng Precinct. Maboneng means “place of light” in Sotho, which is one of the languages spoken in South Africa.
Following the artistic community that had been built, I started thinking of a much bigger idea – basically an entire area that can be developed around Arts on Main. Since then I’ve bought another 19 buildings, we’ve got 20 buildings now, of which five have been converted into office spaces, hotels and residential spaces.
We renovated the buildings in a very clever way so as to promote collaboration and creativity amongst the tenants and owners. This has also helped to create a proper foundation for the community of Maboneng.
Recently we have introduced a transport agency. So we are starting to look at taking over what would normally be a government role in an urban environment. We’ve got a shuttle service and we’ve started bicycle hires. We do all the pavements and all the landscaping in the area. It is a complete infrastructural upgrade of the area.
We have also created many opportunities for young entrepreneurs from all over Africa. So we have Senegalese, Tanzanian and Ethiopian restaurants, furniture designers and fashion designers. It has really become a melting pot for Africa.
We have also engaged a lot with the poor community around the area. We have started a programme called ‘One Crèche at a Time’, which upgrades crèches in the area. We have also started a skateboarding programme with the kids, which happens after school every day. We are really trying to integrate the poorer and wealthier communities of Johannesburg city.
My message to property developers across Africa is to see the potential in the dilapidated buildings in our cities and to transform them into spaces that inspire ideas.
This article is a slightly edited extract from Liebmann’s comments during a session entitled New Solutions: Urban Africa at the 2012 World Economic Forum on Africa.

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/an-idea-for-transforming-africas-decaying-urban-centres/16930/

Truly inspirational. I also like the way in which they think about bringing more people in (from all backgrounds) instead of walling people out. On this forum quite a few people prefer gentrification that allows only the wealthy in while excluding (or forceably removing) the poor. The majority of people in Joburg are poor. If we want sustainable change, we can't simply displace them to other spheres. They need to be included in what happens. Poor people aren't stupid, or criminal, or disgusting. They are poor. We need to expand how we think about our cities.