Neil Fraser
June 2, 2003
I FOUND this little gem in a diary booklet "The City that Leapt to Life - a 1986 diary celebrating Johannesburg's flamboyant origins 100 years ago" - bracketed comments are mine: "On May 31 (1900) Lord Roberts' troops entered Johannesburg. The following day they marched through the streets to assemble in Government Square (now Gandhi Square) in front of the old Court House (sadly long since gone), where the Vierkleur was replaced by the Union Jack. But there was a poignant postscript. "The Vierkleur could not be hauled down"said Leyds, "as my father and several others had the day before induced a boy to climb the flagstaff to nail the flag to the pole."
Last Wednesday, I took a small group of 'northerners' on a whistle-stop tour of the developments underway in the Inner City and they were genuinely bowled over. So, after going on about what's happening overseas, it's time to look at what's on the go in the Inner City - this week an update on three of the macro projects changing its face.
CONSTITUTION HILL - the site is located between Braamfontein and Hillbrow and comprises 95 000 sq metres of land and properties. It hosts important heritage buildings including the "Old Fort", Sections 4 & 5 (the so-called "Natives Gaol") and the Women's Prison as well as the 1943 Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital. The ultimate R700 million development scheduled for completion in December 2006 (but with a number of components becoming operational in 2004) will consist of:
- The Constitutional Court (8 200 sq metres)
- Constitutional Commissions and other related office retail and hospitality activities - approximately 36 000 sq metres of commercial space
- Super-basement for 1 850 cars
- Visitors information and exhibition centre as well as museums and related heritage and tourism activities which will initially target about 300 000 tourists annually
- 120 housing units
- Community facilities and recreation space
- The Constitutional Court building is moving rapidly towards its completion to allow for the Court to take occupation over December/January.
- The earthworks and lateral support system to the "super-basement" is about two thirds complete and
- The mortuary is due to be moved to its new 'home' at the end of this month
An invitation for expressions of interest from potential hotel operators has drawn a reasonable response whilst the proposal call for a coffee shop to be opened in February next year has raised substantial interest.
The feasibility study for the creation of the major heritage, tourism and educational attraction has been completed and a final report and operational plan is anticipated shortly.
BRAAMFONTEIN - the macro objective for this area is to re-establish Braamfontein as an area that is well-managed, vibrant, physically attractive and well-lit with a growing evening economy offering an excellent public environment to the number of corporate head offices clustered in the area as well as to the commercial, residential, hotel and restaurant sectors. The total value of the various projects that make up the overall activity is probably of the order of R200 million.
- The Sappi Corporate Head Office Development sees the stitching together of two existing buildings through the construction of a third between them which appears to be growing at speed
- The construction of the Sappi basement parking under Ameshoff and Simmonds is well underway - it will be utilised by the Civic Theatre for secure parking at night and over week ends, a great plus for the Civic
- Work is about to start on the public park upgrading, the park lies to the south of the Civic Theatre
- Work is complete on the Liberty parking garage on the corner of Melle and Ameshoff and I hear that the JD Group will also be investing in a parking garage on the vacant site behind their corporate head office between the new Liberty parking garage and the Sappi development.
- Tenders have been called for the privately funded 'corporate public space upgrade' which will see Hoofd, Ameshoff and Stiemens as well as their north-south connecting roadways being transformed.
- Work has already started south of this area on the Council financed public space upgrade which picks up Jorrisen and De Korte Streets
- Work has also started on the upgrading to Jan Smuts/Bertha linking into the new Nelson Mandela Bridge whilst the steel footway bridge over Bertha is being demolished, YES!!!!!
NEWTOWN - drive around the western end of the city and one experiences again the vibe of construction activities in this area of mixed use and creative industries.
- The Nelson Mandela Bridge is on schedule for? completion by mid June and its opening on 20 July by Madiba himself. The on-and-off ramps which provide access to and from the south are virtually complete and roadworks connecting them and the NM Bridge to the north-eastern corner of Newtown are well advanced. The opening of the bridge will be celebrated with the Blue IQ Joburg City Challenge details of which are at the end of this Citichat. (For more info contact e-mail: berenicev@stws.adcorp.co.za - I'm going for the 400m event!)
- About time that the old Park Station structural steel structure in this area was developed into something useful!
- The urban design proposals for the Brickfields site which will provide somewhere around 2 000 housing units is complete and work is progressing on detailed design - last time I inquired, the construction start-date was still set for this year.
- The transfer of the Electric Workshop building for the development of a Science Centre is now well advanced
- There is a potential recording studio under investigation which will swell the already established music facilities in the area
- The roadworks upgrade continuing along Jeppe Street from Mary Fitzgerald Square to the Oriental Plaza is well advanced?
- The highly successful Moyo's restaurant in Melrose Arch will be opening a second restaurant in Newtown - GREAT NEWS!
- New tourism offices are in early stages of planning
- If you haven't been and particularly if you have guests GO TO THE BUS FACTORY, 1 President Street for a wonderful exhibition of South African crafts - the best! If you have been, go again, they have quite a number of additions.
Next week we'll update the 'other' projects.
