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The latest progress report on the Charter commitments from Johannesburg’s Inner City Programme Manager Santhurie Naidoo.
WE bring you the latest updates on the public environment upgrade projects completed for Hillbrow, New Doorfontein and surrounds, Pageview, Vrededorp, The Governor’s House, and the Fordsburg market.
Visiting Turbine Hall
All these projects have been successfully completed by the Johannesburg Development Agency, except for the Fordsburg market, which is currently under completion by the Metro Trading Company. Completion of the Fordsburg market is expected by September 2009.
Apart from the R191-million spent on the inner city public environment upgrade, we also highlight the City Manager’s inner city tour on 17 July 2009.
The public environment upgrade capital injection
The capital spend on the public environment upgrade has seen almost full expenditure for the 2008/2009 financial year. The table below provides a comprehensive breakdown of inner city public environment upgrade projects for the allocated capital expenditure per project and the actual spend as per 31 July 2009.
| Project |
Amount allocated (R) |
Actual spend to date
|
| Ekhaya neighbourhood park upgrade |
5 796 636 |
97.08% |
| Greater Doornfontein and surrounds public environment upgrade |
125 413 992 |
99.73% |
| Hillbrow sanitary lanes clean up |
3 184 261 |
99.75% |
| Hillbrow Governor’s House upgrade |
227 016 |
105.27% |
| Hillbrow Quartz Street linear market |
469 151 |
123.22% |
| Pageview, Vrededorp, Fordsburg public environment upgrade |
8 499 882 |
100.11% |
Public Art for all public environment projects
|
249 239 |
97.79% |
| Retail Improvement District – lighting and an urban design framework |
2 893 791 |
96.46% |
| Moth building refurbishment |
2 956 358 |
98.55% |
Fordsburg market
|
7 000 000 |
80% (still under completion)
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The City manager’s tour
The executive management team of the City had recently embarked on a comprehensive inner city tour to recognise, understand and engage with the developments in the inner city.
City manager Mavela Dlamini tours the inner city
It is especially important to understand the complexity of regenerating the inner city, due to its inherent challenges, such as hijacked buildings, off street parking facilities for buses and taxis, the sustainability of regeneration efforts, by law enforcement, the high expectations on the delivery of the Charter commitments, crime and grime, and so on which can only really be understood via site visits. Being on the ground and experiencing the unique feel, vibe, and culture of the inner city is truly representative of what really goes on and how the inner city functions and thrives.
The City manager’s tour started with the Quartz Street linear market in Hillbrow and moved on to the transitional housing by the City’s housing department of MBV Phases I and II. The tour then progressed to the eKhaya Neighbourhood Park in Hillbrow, to the upgrade of the derelict sanitary lanes in Hillbrow, Transport Square and the Afhco upgrade of Ndlovu House, the New Doornfontein public environment upgrade, the Ellis Park precinct and the swimming pool, and the BRT stations. The tour then moved on to the recently upgraded 120 End Street by AFHCO (plus Davies St) and the renewed End Street Park.
The tour ended with a walkabout in an inner city block of Plein Street, Harrison Street, Kerk and Loveday Streets. The tour thus saw some of the upgraded and regenerated parts of the inner city; the impressive inner city; the declining inner city; the regenerating inner city; and the elements that create a unique and very special inner city space and place.
The City’s response to challenges in the inner city such as linear markets, transitional housing, the public environment upgrade, public art, as well as private sector’s large-scale investment and confidence in the inner city was more clearly understood by executive management. The tour provided for an interesting, exciting, and invigorating experience for the City’s team in exploring and understanding specific roles and responsibilities in regenerating the inner city.
One of the linear markets
At the Quartz Street linear market in Hillbrow, the City met with the traders and had a look at the formalised market. The sustainability of the structure, the aesthetics of the market in seamlessly blending with the surrounds of Hillbrow was analysed and further technical input provided by the City’s executive management team. Some traders are still awaiting formal trading space, dependant on the completion of the market.
The tour then moved on to the Claim Street sanitary lanes upgraded by the JDA. The sanitary lanes in Hillbrow were built during the bucket system. These lanes have, as a result, become dumping grounds for residents, places of crime, and a health hazard to especially the children that play in these lanes everyday. The JDA was approached by the eKhaya neighbourhood in Hillbrow for the clean up of these lanes. Here we have a great example of an upgraded sanitary lane with new paving and no waste, and on the left we have one that has not been upgraded - an impactful difference in Hillbrow.
In Hillbrow, the old MBV Hospital was visited to determine the progress of phase II, which is currently being upgraded and converted into transitional housing units for communal. The project started last year and will be completed in October 2009. The project will yield 634 transitional beds which will be used as a decant facility for the inner city residents of bad buildings.
The tour then moved on to the New Doornfontein BRT stations of Doornfontein Campus, East and North Ellis Park, the Ellis Park swimming pool, the New Doornfontein public environment upgrades undertaken by the JDA, Transport Square and Afhco’s stunning new apartment block, Ndlovu House, 120 End Street also by Afhco, and the End Street Park.
Turbine Hall in Newtown was then visited. Turbine Hall was once inhabited by 1000 informal settlers, and was an eyesore on the landscape of Newtown. Today, it is an iconic structure that makes a bold statement of multi national corporations investing large-scale capital into the Inner City. Turbine Hall is occupied by three companies, not just Anglo Gold. The developer of Turbine Hall was met to understand why the companies chose investing in the inner city. It was for the heritage site and vision for this building and its relation to other large companies in the inner city that Turbine Hall was chosen.
The tour ended with a walkabout of a square in the inner city of Plein, Harrison, Kerk, and Loveday Streets to demonstrate the impact that the blitzes have had on this block by Region F. The block was well-cleaned, well policed, and service delivery was clearly being delivered in the block. Well done, Region F on an excellent urban management initiative!
What to expect in the next newsletter
The August newsletter brings you the capital allocation for the 2009/10 financial year and the latest updates and progress on the Charter.
From Santhurie Naidoo
Inner City Progamme Manager
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