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Hallelujah, the walls are tumblin' down! Also, here is
some charter chatter and Halala and Colosseum awards.
 YES, it is happening! The periphery buildings to Beyers Naude Square
are being demolished (as I write) and one can already see the difference that
this will make to this important space.
Originally erected despite vigorous objections from the
public, the structures proved to be the disaster that had been anticipated by
nearly everyone except the council of the time (mid- to late-1980s). The
structures on the north and south edges of the square provided a space that
should never have been framed and diminished as it was - it created major
pedestrian flow difficulties and dangers and negatively impacted on one of our
most historic public places. An urban design disaster that the city is well rid
of.
Yippee!
Charter chatter
The sixth Inner City Partnership Forum was held two weeks back - a well-attended
meeting. The forum, which meets approximately quarterly, arose from the signing
of the Inner City Charter back in 2007 and was established, among other
reasons, so that all parties could keep their finger on the progress of the
deliverables committed to in the charter.
I recall saying at the very first forum meeting, probably
now some 18 months ago, that it was a very brave mayor and council who
committed publicly in writing to such a large sweep of issues, each with an end-date
over a number of years!
Last year, an independent audit of the progress made to June
2008 found that certain issues were way behind programme, some not even begun, and
overall progress only just over half of what it should have been by that time.
It was my perception that there were some departments within the council that
didn't appear to be taking the charter very seriously, if at all.
I must admit to, therefore, having been pleasantly surprised
at the progress reported on at the meeting last week.
The council had also taken cognisance of the independent
report by investigating those issues and areas that were behind programme or
where deliverables had been classified in the audit as vague or where
departments were confused as to responsibility.
Amendment
A proposal at the forum meeting to amend the charter was approved and related
to:
- Changes
of timeframes to more realistic deliverable target dates;
- The
re-wording of a few charter commitments to make them more definitive and
end-result oriented; and
- The
re-allocation of certain tasks and responsibilities to the rightful
delivery agents.
Looking through the proposed changes I couldn't see anything
that looked as though it was earth shattering - while it is disappointing that
certain deliverables will now be completed later than originally anticipated,
they now appear to be on track and many should be completed by the end of this
year, with some going through to next.
The Johannesburg metro police's continued insistence, again
at the forum meeting, that it is managing the traffic flow in the inner city,
especially at intersections at peak times, reflected just how badly this
department is out of touch with reality - the fact that it rejected a private
sector approach to provide pointsmen at no cost to the council, similar to what
has been done in the suburbs, is nothing short of stupidity.
Anyway, we are not alone in our metro police woes; in fact,
the headlines of Cape Town's Cape Times newspaper
of Monday, 8 June stated "City police worst in South Africa".
Fashion district
In retrospect, however, the biggest and most glaring omission was complete
silence in relation to the fashion district. The council has completed the
construction of the district, exceedingly late, but has not honoured its
commitment to the "seed funding" of the organisation that has the responsibility
of managing the facility.
I really had hoped that we had advanced past the stage of
the council funding capital commitments with no thought to their management,
but this does not appear to be the case in relation to the fashion district - very
disappointing and concerning.
Maybe the recently announced reshuffle of the mayoral committee
responsibilities will see this glaring omission
dealt with. I wonder!
Halala Awards
The second annual Halala Awards were handed out on Thursday, 11 June.
These awards are "an annual recognition of extraordinary efforts
made by developers, investors, communities and individuals in the inner city"
and span various categories. This year the categories were Caring Joburg;
Relaxing and Playing in Joburg; Living Joburg; Working and Buying in Joburg;
and a new category, Sustaining Joburg, which considers heritage, innovative
approaches to environmental sustainability and the maintenance and management
of clean and green public spaces.
In some categories more than a single award was made because
of the outstanding nature of a number of the nominees.
The additional category Believing in Joburg will now be
known as the Stan N'kosi Achievement Award in honour of the late chairman of
the Johannesburg Development Agency, who himself was a passionate advocate for
the inner city. This particular category award was not made this year as the agency
and the adjudication panel decided that the integrity of the award and the
honour bestowed by it would be greatly enhanced if it was made biennially.
Winners
As they say at the Oscars (and every other award programme that has emerged)
"And the winners are...":
Caring Joburg: Makhulong A Matala' - a subsidiary of the
Johannesburg Housing Company that provides community development and social
support services to the company's 9 000 tenants.
Caring Joburg: CityKidz Pre and Primary School - an empty
school in Goud Street bought in 2007 by AFHCO for redevelopment into apartments
was instead approached as a corporate social responsibility intervention which
resulted in a school now accommodating over 200 learners from Grade R to Grade
7 in bright and colourful classrooms, with a school hall, computer lab, sick
room and playing fields.
Caring Joburg: Friends of the Inner City Forum - for
facilitating and enhancing community co-operation, the restoration of trust and
creating mutually sustainable relationships between agents, tenants and
building owners.
Relaxing and Playing Joburg: Smart Gym - I wrote about Smart
Gym
quite a few years back and was delighted to see its work acknowledged this
year. It doesn't just provide exercise and gym facilities to inner city residents,
but does so in a manner that supports and sustains social inclusion through the
provision of healthy places in which to exercise and socialise, neutral
environments in which the city's diverse population can mix and relax, and the
development of healthy lifestyles.
Working and Buying Joburg: Olitzki Property Holdings - for
the development of three projects that have "ignited a rejuvenation groundswell"
through three formerly degraded areas of the city, namely Umoya House, Gandhi
Square; Marlborough House, Fox Street; and Lunga House, south of Gandhi Square.
Living Joburg (high end): Leungo Investments' Ashanti and Dogon Buildings
- Leungo is a joint venture between a black women's investment group, PHAB
holdings, and Hollard Insurance. Both these Anderson Street properties were
previously office blocks but have been converted into "functional, stylish and
versatile" apartments drawing on African design excellence.
Living Joburg (middle income): AFHCO Holdings' Sambro
House - Sambro House was originally two buildings, Spareco and Sheffield House,
which were combined for redevelopment at a viable scale into middle-income
rental apartments.
Living Joburg (lower income): Sara Leon Building, Lorentzville - the renovation
and refurbishment of a decayed inner city building was undertaken by an
individual with only some practical skills in building maintenance and
plumbing, Nqobile Khumalo, but with great vision and commitment. He was
identified as an appropriate candidate for funding by TUHF through its Intuthuko
programme. He successfully undertook the complete refurbishment of a building
that would have challenged established development companies.
Sustaining Joburg: Main Street Mall - the highly successful
R12-million redevelopment of Main
Street along six city blocks between the Anglo
American pedestrianised precinct and Gandhi
Square with contiguous property holders providing
the bulk of the finance and the city, through the JDA, providing the R2-million
balance. The project has not merely provided an upgrading of infrastructure
that has attracted new economic activities but provides a strong historic and
heritage reference point for the city and particularly the mining industry
through whose precinct it traverses, with the provision of many appropriate artefacts
as well as the outdoor Mapungubwe Exhibition.
Sustaining Joburg: eKhaya Neighbourhood Improvement
Programme - initiated by the Johannesburg Housing Company, this is an
outstanding example of integrated social development and urban regeneration -
the identification, development and harnessing of community involvement with
strong leadership.
Colosseum Award
An important addition to this year's Halala Awards was the Colosseum Award in
the field of heritage conservation. The Colosseum Award came about a couple of
decades ago when a group of Jozibugs fought the decision to demolish the old
Colosseum building, to the west of the Carlton Centre. During the "demolish/retain"
debate, the property developer slandered heritage consultant Herbert Prins, who
took it to court for defamation.
The matter was settled out of court and Prins was paid an
amount of damages. He did not wish to be personally enriched and used the money
in its entirety to provide a heritage award which was to be aptly called the
Colosseum Award.
The well-known artist, Cecil Skotnes (who sadly passed away
recently), was approached by Prins and requested to produce an appropriate
award. The resultant Colosseum Award is a magnificent artwork which was awarded
this year to Turbine Hall Square.
The Johannesburg Heritage Trust took over the administration
of the award some time ago and worked with both the City's department of arts, culture
and heritage and the Johannesburg Development Agency to include the award as
part of Halala.
Congrats to all the award winners but also to all the
entrants - three times as many as last year. Shows you how much there is going
on at such a high level in the inner city.
Finally, I tried to take a group of international
journalists around the inner city last week. It was raining and miserable and
the inner city was not at its most accessible with BRT work ongoing everywhere
one turned (or couldn't turn because of it!) but, notwithstanding the
confusion, they were impressed with what had and was being done - this time
next year it will be a pleasure!
Regards, Neil
All day bus tour: Magaliesberg - history, restoration and
art
Saturday, 20 June
Join us on a fun and informative day trip. We start off with Prof Erik Holm
giving us a talk on ox wagons and his 20 years spent building and restoring
them at The Ox Wagon Ring.
Afterwards there will be time for tea, coffee and rusks and
to look at some of the wagons in their charming setting as well as visiting his
small private museum. We will have a light lunch at Preller House, and visit
the family cemetery and the cottage where Eugene Marais spent his last days.
Dr Johann Marais will talk to us about Gustave Preller and
Eugene Marais. We will visit the Dietmar Wiening Gallery with its bronze
sculptures set in a cliff hanging position over the Crocodile
River, where Dietmar's wife, Lesley, will show us around. We will
also visit other art galleries in the area subject to time and traffic.
Bring sun cream, a hat, comfortable shoes and some cash for
drinks and possible retail therapy. Meet Deanna Kirby and Johna Turner at
7.30am for departure promptly at 8am, at the Sunnyside Park Hotel, 2 York Road,
Parktown. We will return between 5pm and 6pm.
The price of R385 per person includes
transport, morning tea, coffee, juice and
rusks, a light lunch, guides and guest speakers.
Computicket, on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or through the Computicket
website . For
more information, telephone Eira Bond on weekdays from 9am to 1pm on
011 482 3349.
The 2009 Kensington 4 Charity Fun Run is to be held on 30 August
from 8am to 6pm in Queen Street
business district, Kensington South to support four major Kensington projects
and underprivileged kids. Check out the Kensington Tourism website .
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