October 27, 2003
By Thomas Thale
IN its day, it was the most imposing building in the city, home to the richest mining magnates and a site where major deals were consummated. Now The Corner House is set to recover its sparkle.
"Join the gold rush!" urge the developers in a language replete with colonial images, as they punt the loft apartments to be developed in the historic building. In their marketing drive, they tout the lofty apartments as heralding "the next golden era," exploiting the glorious past of early Joburg.
Indeed, their call does have historical resonance. The building, on the corner of Commissioner and Simmonds streets, epitomises the entrepreneurial spirit and ostentation that underpinned the gold rush of the last century.
Over the years, it became a major landmark and an institution in the city. From its humble beginnings in 1886 as a single-storey wood-and-iron shack called Beit's Building, through its conversion into a two storey brick building in 1893, to its upgrading to a magnificent seven storey building in 1904, The Corner House has always been a marvel to behold.
The Corner House development aims to attract the affluent to the city centre
Now, as it approaches its centenary celebration next year, the building has become the site of a R60-million development. The plan is to convert the building into luxurious loft apartments targeted at the new generation of high-fliers.
The first 15 apartments to be built in the first phase have already been sold out, says Alfonso Botha, who co-owns the building with Duan Coetzee through their company, Urban Ocean. "Most of the apartments were bought off plan by professionals such as bankers, IT specialists and advertising executives - mainly people in their 30s," says Botha.
The concept of inner city loft living first took root in American cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and Philadelphia, where old buildings were revamped to create working and living space for executives. Now major European cities, such as London and Paris have caught up with the frenzy.
The idea of loft living is to renovate old buildings, converting them into high-tech offices and residences. Thus occupants reside and work within a building, creating a unique urban experience. "We'll provide a mixture of modern, futuristic design with a colonial heritage to create something unique," promises Botha.
Botha is convinced that there is a market for his grand scheme, and is going full-steam ahead, pumping millions into the ambitious project. Like its international precursors, loft living in the Joburg CBD will be "designer living" providing security, a limousine service for the transportation of occupants and shopping services. In many respects, the building will be self-contained. It will have a swimming pool, a gym, a sauna and other modern amenities.
The apartments will be 150mē on average, says Botha. Construction work will begin in November and the first apartments will be ready by March next year. Eight additional units will be built in the second phase, which should be completed by May. Botha expects these apartments to fetch an average of R800 000 per unit.
The Corner House was the name of arguably the most successful city "Syndicate", as it was then known, of its time. The central figures in the conglomerate were pioneering city fathers, including Alfred Beit, Herman Eckstein, his brother, Friedrich, James Taylor, Gerges Rouliot, Hennen Jennings, Julius Carl Wehner, and Lionel Phillips, all of whom operated from the building at various times and made a sizeable fortune from the goldfields in and around Johannesburg. "These men had financial acumen, organisation, enterprise and daring," writes historian, Purnell Cartwright of the pioneers.
The building, designed by the architects, William Leck and Frank Elmey, still retains much of its splendour, and has been declared a National Monument, protected under the National Heritage Resources Act, No. 25 of 1999. It stands majestically on its solid steel frame, defying the passage of time. The staircase still boasts its original wrought iron banisters and the original green tiles still adorn the walls. The apartments have the safes that were originally used to store gold bars. The bay windows survive, so does the copper dome on the roof of the building.
Botha expresses confidence that the tide has turned for the inner city and the crime and grime of the last decade have been arrested. "First National Bank, Standard Bank, Absa and Anglo American are all injecting money to renovate their headquarters in the area," says Botha.
The new generation of company executives looks set to exercise their entrepreneurial spirit from the hallowed walls of The Corner House, reasserting its place as a centre of commercial activity.
For more information about the Corner House, contact Katy Essa: 0726020311
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