July 10, 2006
By Neil Fraser
ISN'T it interesting how one story, in this case the launch of two residential developments in the CBD, intersects with so many other stories? And how those stories have further stories within them, making up eight micro stories that are well worth exploring further.
Story 1: The Phillipses
The
Sunday Times Heritage Stories series includes a brief but fascinating look at Lionel Phillips (Mike Alfred's
The follies and fortunes of a capitalist champion gives a more detailed account). The diminutive Phillips made up for being vertically challenged he was a mere 1,6 metres tall by being a more than colourful personality in the newly emerging mining town with which he was associated from the 1890s to 1914.
Alfred describes him as someone who "from beginnings which offered scant privilege he won notoriety and fame, earned immense sums of money, exerted great economic and political power, helped form a mighty industry, and was honoured with a baronetcy".
He and his wife, Florence, equally colourful, were the first of the Randlords to be drawn to Parktown Ridge.
The story goes that while on a horse-ride way back in 1892, Florence came across the site where the Johannesburg Hospital now stands and declared it to be a perfect place to build a house. She was struck by the forest spread out below and the clean air, a great contrast to the dusty and barren mining town on the other side of the ridge.
The Phillipses appointed Sir Herbert Baker to design their home on the 16-acre site they acquired and the house, Villa Arcadia, was completed in 1910.
Today it would possibly be somewhat pejoratively termed "colonial architecture". It was evidently not the first Arcadia to be built here. The first is believed to have been built in the late 1890s when Parktown was first laid out. This was evidently a compact Victorian villa but proved to be too small for the lavish entertaining Phillipses.
The Sunday Times article recalls that the Phillipses lived at Arcadia for a decade and it is said all the "wealth, wit, brilliance and brains of the Transvaal gathered at their lavish garden parties and his wife's Sunday afternoon 'at homes'". Other captains of industry soon joined them in search for cleaner air, commissioning homes which came to be known as "Parktown baronial".
In 1922 they sold Villa Arcadia to the South African Jewish Orphanage.
Story 2: The Orphanage
For the next 81 years Villa Arcadia operated as an orphanage and over that period underwent various additions including a hospital, dormitory block, an ablution block, and so on.
An approach by the National Monuments Council in 1977 to declare the property a national monument was turned down. However, the numbers housed by the orphanage started to decline until, by 2001, only 15 children lived in Arcadia and they were eventually rehoused elsewhere.
In its life span as an orphanage probably 2 000 children would have benefited from its superb location and setting.
Incidentally, a book by David Sandler 100 years of Arc Memories: Arcadia African Jewish Orphanage 1906 to 2006 was launched in Perth, Australia last Friday. Copies available from the author at sedsand@ca.com.au.
In July 2002 the contents of the home were auctioned and in 2003 Villa Arcadia was acquired by Hollard Insurance.
Story 3: Hollard
Hollard was established in 1980 by Robert Enthoven and today is a privately held South African investment and insurance group chaired by one of Robert's sons, Richard. It has expanded internationally and now has offices in the UK, Australia, Pakistan and India while, in Africa, it has a presence in Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Botswana and is shortly opening in Ghana.
The company won first place in the 'Best Company to Work For' survey in the insurance category for three consecutive years.
Its early offices were in the CBD of Johannesburg but in 2003 it acquired the Arcadia Orphanage property.
Retaining the historic Arcadia building itself, Hollard constructed new office facilities on the site, some 12 000m² housing up to 1 200 workers, built in two blocks separated by an atrium and amphitheatre.
Arcadia itself was beautifully restored by Hollard. Some of the additions it had accumulated over the years were removed while other aspects were enhanced. It is today again a lovely building with large high-ceilinged reception and other rooms all boasting fine craftsmanship - brass work by George Ness, and beautifully carved rococo fanlights above each double door by Anton van Wouw. It has a wonderful loggia or stoep overlooking the northern suburbs.
As befits its original owner, Arcadia boasts a notable art collection assembled by Hollard the Phillipses left a legacy of their art collection to the city and Florence campaigned for the Johannesburg Art Gallery and arranged its first collections. Read Jillian Carman's Uplifting the Colonial Philistine: Florence Phillips and the Making of the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Story 4: PHAB Holdings and Leungo Investments
In 2004 PHAB Holdings was established by two dynamic women, Basetsana Kumalo and Potlako Gasennelwe and then joined by a third, Dr Mabatho Ntom'zikhona Mushekwane. A black women's investment group, PHAB Holdings focuses on sourcing and facilitating business opportunities and investments across selected industries in Africa, particularly those related to property investments, medical aid, mineral resources, financial services and design.
Between the three of them they have a wide range of expertise ranging from media and communications to design, property, medical and information and communication technologies.
Kumalo, who chairs the company, also sits on a number of boards of South African companies and was nominated in the Shoprite Woman of the Year Awards in the Media and Communications category. Gasennelwe is CEO of PHAB Properties and holds a BA in interior design and an MA in art history and is currently studying towards her MSc in housing and property at Wits University. Mushekwane, CEO of PHAB Medical, is a medical practitioner who is also MD of Clinix Vosloorus Emergency Unit and manager of Central Route Trading.
Leungo Investments (Pty) Ltd is a joint venture between Hollard and PHAB. Its name is derived from a Tswana word meaning fruits, wealth and harvest. Its mission is "to provide South Africans with quality homes that draw on the design excellence of Africa, instead of foreign European and Eastern influences that are so prolific at the moment". Hallelujah to that!
Story 5: The Launch
The launch brought together the players and organisations that are reflected in the prior stories at least, those that are still around. The launch was of two Hollard office buildings in the city: 6 and 10 Anderson Street that are to be completely revamped to residential under the names of DoGon and Ashanti respectively. It was held at the refurbished Arcadia and was a great evening.
Story 6: DoGon and Ashanti
DoGon (6 Anderson Street) is named after an ancient Mali civilisation whose culture was rich in science and astrology and was strongly influential in Egyptology. It had a close affinity to the Star Sirrius and this background has influenced the contemporary interiors to be used throughout the project. The building will have 56 one- and two-bed apartments with three duplex penthouses. There will be a spa and laundromat in the building, a pool and entertainment area on the roof and parking in the basement. Prices range from R389 000 for one-bed, one-bath to R899&ngsp;000 for a two-bed, two-bath duplex penthouse.
The second building, the Ashanti, (10 Anderson Street) is named after the Ashanti peoples who were known for their gold filigree, ebony, precious stones and heavy handwoven Kente cloth.
According to research carried out by Elsabe Brink, the original structure of the building was completed in 1952 with further additions in 1963 and alterations in 1983. It was the head office of engineering firm Reunert and Lenz and is a magnificent combination internally of marble and brass from a time when "stonemasons were masters and fittings and finishes an art-form rather than a practical application".
Ashanti offers 70 apartments of one- and two-bed units with four duplex penthouses. A coffee shop, restaurant, cr่che, business centre and roof pool and entertainment centre will be provided. Prices range from R249 000 (bachelor pad) to R799 000 for a two-bed, two-bath duplex penthouse.
Both complexes will be managed together as a "Condominium Hotel". This concept allows individual investors to place their apartments in a rental pool where the combination of short-term hotel occupancy and long-term stays is said to ensure significantly better returns than those of regular rentals.
Both complexes fall within the South Western Improvement District (SWID), which provides supplementary security and street maintenance services.
You can check it all out at prop2000.co.za or phone Anton at 083 457 7779. I understand that between the launch and Friday afternoon, 37 units have been sold.
Story 7: Anderson Street
Elsabe Brink's research provides a great deal of fascinating information on the history of area and of the street. She states that "Anderson Street was named after a Captain James Anderson, a prospector who was employed by HB Marshall, after whom Marshalltown was named, to prevent his claim on the Heriott Mine on the main gold reef to be jumped."
Story 8: Urban revitalisation
The area where this is taking place is developing into a precinct of great activity.
Directly to the north of these two buildings, Anglo American Corporation is building its new 1 000-bay parking garage. Adjacent, on the eastern edge of this parking garage is Mapumgubwe, an Atterbury conversion of the previous French House building into "128 luxury apartments". Slightly further east, another Atterbury conversion of 84 Marshall Street into Isibaya House, will offer a further 101 apartments.
I understand that the building housing the CCMA, also in this area, has been sold and is due for refurbishment for residential apartments. To the south of 6 and 10 Anderson, the Johannesburg Land Company is looking at the redevelopment of Westend Centre and, to the east of this, the previous Price Forbes Group House is leased to Standard Bank and now links into the Standard Bank Superblock via an over-road bridge. The only blot in the cityscape here seems to be the slum-lorded 16 Frederick Street.
This entire precinct in the south-western quadrant of the CBD is set to be dramatically upgraded and will provide an excellent new residential node in the inner city. With this amount of residential accommodation coming on stream, we can anticipate commercial service-retail to follow.
Stories within stories and it's sure all happening in Joeys!
Ciao, Nei
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
