October 22, 2003
By Lucille Davie
OVER the next two months the 106-year-old Rissik Street Post Office is to get a face of a different kind - a protective, waterproof look, the City of Johannesburg's effort to halt further deterioration of the historic building.
One of the oldest buildings in the city, it's been vacant for the past seven years when the Post Office moved out, but even before they vacated the building, maintenance on the structure had ground to a halt. In the past six years the building has rapidly deteriorated, mostly the result of vandalism and theft.
The building belongs to the City and in 1996 it cancelled the Post Office's lease. In the same year the provincial government, which owns the adjacent City Hall, expressed an interest in taking over the building, but nothing came of this.
In 1978 the building was proclaimed a national monument. It was built in 1897 and designed by President Paul Kruger's architect, Sytze Wierda, a Hollander, and was at one time the tallest building in town.
The mothballing is to be a top-down process. The whole exterior is to receive a waterproof coat of paint. The clock tower, which recently had its clock hands, bells and copper dome stolen, is to have a hood placed over it to waterproof it.
All the ventilator shafts are to be enclosed and waterproofed. All broken windows are to be cleared and reglazed. Every second window is to be screwed closed, with alternate windows to be opened periodically to aerate the interior. Floorboards have been badly damaged as a result of water leaks from the numerous broken windows.
The ground floor windows are to have fitted steel covers placed over them. And on the pavement surrounding the building, green palustrade fencing has already been erected.
Daphne Chili, inner city property manager for Propcom, the City's property management company, says that the city is considering all its options regarding the preservation of the building.
Various ideas for the development of the building are being considered, with local and foreign investors showing an interest. One of the ideas on the table is have a mixed-use development in which the ground floor could be converted into office and retail space, with loft and apartment space on other floors of the building.
In 1998 a Malaysian property developer expressed an interest in the building, with a wish to turn it into a boutique hotel at a cost of R35-million. The City was keen on this idea, especially after the closure of the Carlton Hotel in the inner city. But the agreement was terminated when the developer didn't meet the first requirement of supplying a R2-million deposit.
Regarding selling the building, Chili says there's "no firm decision" on that option at this stage.
The mothballing started a week ago and is expected to cost R2-million.
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