| Neil Fraser on CBD upgrades, part 2 |
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| Written by Neil Fraser | |
| Monday, 15 September 2008 | |
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Change is rapidly gaining pace in downtown Johannesburg, with improvements being seen from Feitas and Vrededorp in the west, all the way across town to the fashion district and Bertrams in the east. 
Neil Fraser
PICKING up from where we left off last week, and starting on the west side of the inner city at Pageview, Vrededorp and Fordsburg: a professional team has been appointed and is currently finalising the urban design framework which will be followed by a modest public environment upgrading. I know the folk in these areas have been quite concerned that they were being left out of the City's plan, so am sure they are delighted at the potential progress. The work is planned to be completed by 30 June 2009. It should also include some public artwork firstly to the railway bridge "gateway" from Fordsburg to Fietas and then the reinstatement of the heritage plaques in the Fietas area. In fact, there is a budget of some millions for the year ending June 2008 for additional public art through the inner city. On the northwest corner of Bree and Quinn streets, the refurbishment of a group of fascinating old buildings into a mixed use development of 3 600 square metres to be known as Newtown Quarter is looking good. The project has a courtyard and will be ideal for various types of eating establishments. It will have a substantial and positive impact on the area. I have been assured that the deal on Transport House is now signed and sealed - I think the process has taken over two years. One would think that the City's property company would understand the cyclical nature of the industry and try to be more expeditious once a deal has been done. At last, after many years of visual decay, illegal squatting and vandalism, this building will start to positively re-inforce the area instead of blighting it. I believe plans include a hotel, residential accommodation and retail.
Moving Into Dance The large tract of land that this building is part of, Central Place, already houses No 1 Central Place, the home of Kaya FM and the Gauteng Tourism Authority; the Workers' Library and Museum; Sci Bono Discovery Centre; and the Blue IQ offices. The likelihood is that the latter, another temporary structure, will be demolished to make way for a building or structure that will add to Newtown's entertainment and cultural offering. The balance of the site was offered to developers some years back and submissions received included some high-rise apartment buildings, commercial space, retail and recreation development. The heritage authorities were unhappy, particularly with the high-rise developments, as they destroyed the historic industrial feel of Newtown and a long, long period of negotiations was entered into to find clarity - so long that the economic cycle changed and the original development proposals were not pursued. Fresh proposals were called for in the past few months and, although some response was received, interest in that particular area appears to have waned temporarily given the current economic climate. It again underlines the necessity for public authorities to work a lot faster than they have become used to!
Carr Street 
Fietas will see the reinstatement of heritage plaques
A budget has been approved for the refurbishment of the Workers' Museum, design work is already under way and the on-site work will start this year for completion by the end of April 2009. The extension to the Sci Bono technology centre is really moving at a rapid rate and one can see the new components of auditorium and other uses quite clearly. Another restoration that is about to begin is that to Kippies, once in danger of being demolished. The beautiful historic Park Station building still stands neglected, although the Inner City Charter called for progress, with an alternative use to be developed by June 2008. I have always felt that one of the negatives of entering Newtown from the north is that you drive over the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge and are greeted on your left by a messy informal taxi rank with accompanying informal activities. I remember some years ago taking a bus load of folk on an inner city tour and there was a gigantic pile of sheep and cow heads attracting thousands of flies and heaven knows what besides. This space desperately needs to be cleaned up. In the macro plan of things it was hoped that it would form part of the proposed International Transit and Shopping Centre (ITSC) where long distance taxis and buses would be accommodated in a huge structure which would also cater for appropriate trading directed to the cross-border trade. It would also form the base for a number of residential and commercial blocks. Originally this was to be in part completed by 2010. No more. In the medium to long term the property (which is owned by Transnet) will probably not be taken over by the City as Transnet appears to be in talks with PIC in relationship to the future ownership of the site. In the short term there is an opportunity for the site to be leased to the City to accommodate the ever-growing number of cross-border buses and taxis that have absolutely no official ranking facilities elsewhere in the city. So every time they find an open piece of land in lower Braamfontein to rank on, they get chased away! I think the City has got entirely the wrong approach. This isn't a bus and taxi ranking problem, it is an economic opportunity that will be lost to the City if it doesn't do something appropriate, and quickly too. The cross-border business brings in revenue of nearly R20-billion a year for the city! We should be falling over ourselves to suitably accommodate and manage it.
Gateway 
The airy space that the offices of Turbine Hall offer
I recently went to visit a friend whose business has taken offices in the commercial area of Turbine Hall and I continue to be whacked by the great expanse that this project has produced and the airy, wonderful space that the private offices - ie apart from Anglo Gold Ashanti - offer. The good news about the geographic area in which the building is located, which has seen a great deal of activity recently in institutional purchases, is that a major urban upgrade of Diagonal Street is now no longer on the wish list but will, in fact, be completed by June next year. Urban designers have been appointed and are already working. Moving to Ferreirasdorp, Marshalltown, south of Newtown, the Johannesburg Land Company's new office building for Zurich Re grows daily and will have a major impact on this rather neglected area west of the magistrates' court. It will certainly act as a catalyst for more development in the area although we still seem to be making no progress with the adjacent Chinatown upgrade. As mentioned last week, Market and Commissioner streets are about to be torn up to provide the dedicated lanes for the Bus Rapid Transit system and its stations. There still is no real news about Beyers Naude Square or the Rissik Street Post Office other than what I recently provided, but good news again is that the Oppenheimer Gardens will be cleaned up and landscaped as it forms part of the Retail Improvement District's exciting plans for this central area of the city. There is also some other good news about this area, but I'll hold it till later. The Fashion District is entering its final stage of construction and more street upgrading in the area has been approved. I received a notice of the selling of residential units in the "new" Colosseum on the corner of Commissioner and Kruis streets. This site has a really interesting history; it was previously the site of the Colosseum Theatre, built in 1933. A couple of stories regarding the original building, its demolition and even rebuilding as an office block before its current conversion to residential, bear telling, but let's leave that for a future date. Suffice it to quote Clive Chipkin (Joburg Style) in regard to the interior of the theatre: "The gothic fantasy of the interior was the work of the architect-artist William M Timlin, whose susceptibilities to a dream world of his own creation were so pronounced that we may regard them as a distinct form of disengagement from the world of monetary and political crisis outside." Let's see, then there is the upgrading to the Yeoville Recreation Centre; the cleaning up of Pullinger Kop; the establishment of the Ekhaya Neighbourhood Park in Hillbrow; the partial reconstruction of the Governor's House opposite the Fort (badly damaged by fire); the reconstruction of the Quartz Street Market in Hillbrow; additional work in Bertrams; the Hillbrow health precinct; and substantial public environment upgrading in Greater Doornfontein. It is all proof of the headline over the past two weeks - "Inner city upgrading grows apace". Regards, Neil
Walking Tour: Melville Koppies The tour starts at 8am promptly as the gates are locked at 8am and no entry is possible after this. It lasts about three hours and is over rough natural paths. It is for reasonably fit adults and is not suitable for children under 12. A walking pace will be set and the whole group must stay together with Melville Koppies guides leading and bringing up the rear. No dogs allowed. Please wear shoes with proper tread and bring hat, sunblock, water, and snacks. Toilets and water at one stop only. The cost is a R20 (or more!) donation for the maintenance of the koppies. For more information, phone Wendy on 011 482 4797.
Walking tour: Hope Road, Mountainview Stories of Gandhi and his architect associate, Herman Kallenbach, also relate to this area. The cost is R75 and booking is at Computicket. Meet Dennis Adams and special guest Alkis Doucakis in Hope Road, on the corner of Osborne and Hope roads (Hope Road is just off Louis Botha Avenue) at 2pm. For more information, contact the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust office on 011 482 3349 in the mornings or visit the trust's website. Related stories: |
