November 15, 2006
By Lucille Davie
THE Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has been climbing a mountain over the past five years, and now the mountain is a little less steep.
"The redevelopment of the inner city has been a high mountain to climb. Now, five years on, that mountain is a little less steep, less daunting," said the agency's chief executive, Lael Bethlehem, at the presentation of its Indicators of Progress in the Inner City 2006 report, on Monday, 13 November. The report is published annually.
At the same function Executive Mayor Amos Masondo announced that in April 2007 he would convene an inner city summit which would produce an inner city charter to guide further renewal.
The purpose of the JDA report is to measure the impact of the agency's work, as well other work that is being undertaken by the City, and to understand trends within the inner city.
Established in April 2001 as a limited liability company, the JDA is charged with stimulating and supporting economic development initiatives throughout the greater Johannesburg metropolitan area.
The report focuses on the inner city in particular, as it is an area that is in dire need of regeneration, says Bethlehem. Over the next four years other areas will be added: Soweto, particularly the Baralink development, Ellis Park and Nasrec, in the build up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and attention will be focused on public transport.
The report was based on an independent survey, drawing on a variety of primary and secondary sources, in particular data from the South African Property Owners' Association.
The separate areas of focus in the inner city are: Newtown, Braamfontein, Constitution Hill, the Greater Ellis Park precinct, the Hillbrow health precinct, the Yeoville High Street, the Fashion District, Jewel City, and the High Court precinct.
Progress in the inner city was measured according to four criteria: the property market, rentals, confidence levels, and a 24-hour city. This inner city report has been conducted over the past four years.
Property market
Vacancies in the property market are used as an indicator of progress. Vacancies for A-grade office space in the CBD have dropped from 25,8 percent in 1999 to 11,3 percent in 2005, a figure that compares favourably with other parts of the city: Rivonia at 5,2 percent, Midrand at 13,5 percent and Rosebank at 6,4 percent.
Vacancy rates for B-grade property remain a concern, says the report. While there has been an improvement from a peak of 38 percent in 2002, to 30,6 percent in 2005, the figure still remains high. However, this may have a simple explanation, according to the report.
"This may be explained in part as the result of the conversion of a significant amount of A-grade space to B-grade space which then reduces the supply of A-grade space and increases the supply of B-grade space."
Another factor is that many of the B-grade buildings do not have basement parking and are not within easy reach of other parking facilities. To solve this, a number of companies have recently completed their own parking garages close to their offices.
Braamfontein, on the other hand, had seen "a spectacular recovery", said Bethlehem. A-grade vacancies were between 10 percent and 14 percent from 2000 to 2004, but have plummeted to 3,9 percent in 2005. B-grade space has moved from 16 percent in 2000 to 12 percent in 2005.
"The reduction in vacancies is a major achievement and reflects the public and private investment that has been made in the area, as well as the establishment of the city improvement district," says the report.
Rentals
Median rentals for A-grade property in the CBD increased from R28 a square metre in 2004 and 2003 to R34 a square metre in 2005. In Braamfontein these rentals have risen to R57,50 a square metre.
The report indicates that rentals generally are rising after a long period of stagnation, a reflection too of lower vacancy rates.
Confidence levels
The confidence index provides a score between a low 1 and a high 100, based on respondents' answers to certain questions. A base figure in the inner city of 43,5 was obtained in 2002; this reached a high of 57,5 in 2004, settled back slightly to 54,5 in 2005, and returned to 57,2 in 2006.
"When analysing the overall survey results, the most positive figures were those related to economic data," indicates the report.
In Ellis Park, which in four years' time will see a huge influx of visitors for the world cup, residents are "confident the pace of development will get better". In the neighbouring suburb of Yeoville, confidence levels have increased from 39 percent in 2004 to 48,3 percent in 2006.
Businesses were asked about cleanliness in the inner city - in 2002 the response was 41,1, this moved to 44,4 in 2006, a figure regarded by the JDA as still unacceptably low.
Regarding crime in the inner city, perceptions moved from 44 in 2002 to 43,5 in 2006. "This is a low score, and represents ongoing concerns about crime."
Data provided by the South African Police Service show that crime has fallen from 26 420 cases in 1994 to 22 654 in 2005. Crime figures over the nine-year period show a "steadily declining trend that plateaus in the last few years".
Some 48,6 percent of residents do not feel safe outdoors in the inner city, compared to 54,4 percent in 2005. This relates to the 30 percent who feel that crime had increased, down from 34 percent in 2005 and 37 percent in 2004.
On the other hand, 40 percent felt that security in the inner city was better than it was in the rest of Joburg.
In the Greater Ellis Park area, perceptions of crime levelled at 16,9 percent, while reported crime in the area dropped by 10 percent. In Yeoville the crime index was at 28,8 in 2004, dropping to 25 this year. Crime data showed that there was a slight drop: from 6 369 reported cases in 2003 to 6 172 cases in 2005.
Confidence is also measured in the impressions of city life. In 2006, 26 percent of respondents indicated that their image of the inner city was "dirty and unsafe". In 2005 it stood at 32 percent, compared to 80 percent in 2002.
In 2006 78,6 percent stated that the variety of shops and facilities was adequate, up from 67 percent in 2005. Some 38 percent indicated that night activities and facilities in the inner city were either average or poor, an improvement from 54 percent in 2005.
Regarding business' response to developments in the inner city, 57,2 percent said that they were satisfied with developments in 2006, compared to 54,5 percent in 2005.
"There is an improved perception of the overall management of the CBD and an increase in the sense of optimism that business people feel," indicates the report.
Businesses were also asked about their economic expectations and experience. There has been a steady rise among those that reported their turnover had increased, while there was an improvement in business expectation of higher turnover in the coming year.
Similarly, businesses reported higher employment in the past year, and expected higher employment figures in the coming year.
"There is a good bedrock for opening and running of business," Bethlehem said.
The JDA also monitored the residents' overall awareness and satisfaction with the agency. In the inner city, a score of 62,5 was obtained, down from 65 in 2005 but higher than 53 in 2002. In the Greater Ellis Park area awareness of the JDA scored 85,9, sharply up from 68,6 in 2005. In Yeoville, the figure for 2006 was 77,4, up from 70 in 2005.
24-hour city
Data have been collected from the city's major entertainment venues, including Ellis Park, the Market Theatre and Museum Africa.
In 2005 attendance figures stood at 1,37 million, a "marked improvement" over previous years. In 2005 the Market Theatre precinct attracted 112 000 visitors. Mary Fitzgerald Square has hosted several events: in 2005 commemorations for 16 June attracted 25 000, while Diwali this year attracted 45 000 people. The Nokia Youth Jamming attracted 47 000 people in 2005 and 37 500 in 2006.
Strengths and weaknesses
Bethlehem indicated that the city, an area of 18 square kilometres, could be divided into different geographical pockets that reflect its strengths and weaknesses, with the Carlton Centre as its dividing line.
The city is performing poorly east of the centre, except for the Absa Bank area, with weaknesses around Park Station, and strong performances north of the station.
The areas along Jeppe Street between Harrison and Banket streets were "extremely poor", she said. It was a case of the facilities not being adequate for the number of people who wished to be in that area.
"This is a massive task and cannot be achieved using existing funding streams alone – we will need partners."
She said that there were five City Improvement Districts, and seven voluntary ones, in the inner city.
Bethlehem added that the urban development zone (UDZ) incentive had done a lot to stimulate renewal in the inner city. The zone stretches from Bertrams in the east to Fordsburg in the west. More than R1-billion has been registered in UDZ incentive claims.
Bethlehem acknowledged the contribution made by the private sector in the regeneration of the city. In the areas around the High Court, Braamfontein, Newtown and in the CBD it had made huge interventions, converting office space to residential space, and in so doing, bringing people back into the city to live.
"There are still parts of the inner city that require a great deal of attention and there is much to be done. But we have turned the corner. We are well on our way," concludes the report.
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