CITICHAT 34/2002 - 30 August 2002
ARTCITY
Unscheduled Update on JHBARTCITY
I am going to get around to Inner City Regeneration Projects - 3 but not today!
Again! This past week has been a critical one for JHBARTCITY so let me give you an update. First an apology – our server, computer brain or whatever you call it, went mad a couple of days ago and decided to re-send the previous Citichat as well as number 22. I think it would have sent the past five years editions if we hadn’t beaten it to submission first. Sorry about that!
Tuesday evening was the joint launch of our JHBARTCITY project and the Cell C ‘Art in the City’ project. Joint launch because Cell C actually sponsored the first fifteen of our JHBARTCITY artworks. They, together with the artwork sponsored by Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) and the JHBARTCITY logo sponsored by the manufacturing and erection companies, Omnigraphics and Logrig Signs were all up by lunchtime that Tuesday after much, much, frenetic activity to meet the deadline. Our other fourteen works will start going up this week.
The essential difference between JHBARTCITY and Art for the City is that the latter obviously has a commercial slant. In the words of Mr Talaat Laham the Chairman and CEO of Cell C; “When Cell C commissioned over 40 artists to produce artworks that reflected their personal interpretation of Johannesburg’s Inner City, we had no idea what to expect. We deliberately kept the brief as open-ended as possible in order to encourage a broad creative response. In terms of branding , the only criteria was that the artists should include a C shape somewhere in the work, and that it should be signed ‘For the City’. Other than that, they were free to interpret the brief in any way they wished. We are delighted by the results. The works are as diverse as the people who call this great city their home.”
We started working on the project late in 2001 and only became aware of the Cell C project, which started much later, by the middle of 2002. With the same ‘base’ – contemporary South African Art – it seemed to make sense to leverage both our projects off each other. Cell C’s sponsorship of fifteen of our works was only concluded in the past few weeks. Our works are very distinctive in their presentation as they are generally set in a black border with the name of the work, artists’ and sponsors’ names and the JHBARTCITY and the new ‘joburg’ logo of the City Council. Ours also follow a specific JHBARTCITY route whilst Cell C’s are scattered all over the city. Another physical difference is that in many cases Cell C’s artworks are ‘wrapped’ around buildings whilst we have one work on one face. But the combined effect will be quite stunning as the two projects will together be exhibiting at least 100 giant artworks.
The combined launch which was provided by Cell C was a real blast and was held in the Electric Workshop in Newtown (what a GREAT space). Original works from both projects were exhibited, great music and great fun was had by all.
At the end of his welcome, Mr Talaat Laham made the following personal observation; “I was born in Lebanon and spent much of my working life in Beirut and later in Saudi Arabia. I have seen first-hand the effect that urban revitalisation and renewal can have on the morale and the psyche of a city and its people. Efforts to revive and rebuild a city are never wasted and the knock-on effects in terms of development and job creation are tremendous. For this reason, this campaign has a very personal significance and I hope that other companies will be encouraged to follow suit and invest in the revitalisation of what is one of the greatest cities on the African continent.” YES, YES, YES!!!!!
In my few words I suggested that cities are all about ‘space’ and ‘place’ and ‘people’ and ‘pizzazz’ and ‘pizzazz’ is all about creativity. In his book ‘Cities in Civilisation’ the author says “Creativity is no longer an incidental miracle that happens occasionally in exceptionally favoured cities; in a globalised economy where no place can rest on its laurels for long, it is now a central part of the business of being a successful city.”
Wednesday morning the JHBARTCITY works which had been on display the night before at the launch had to be taken down and rushed to the Fort where they were re-erected for the official opening of the exhibition of these works later that afternoon. This was a quiet affair without the razzmatazz of the previous night and the focus was on the art and artists. Later a bus took all those who were interested on the JHBARTCITY route to view the works that had been erected. However we also used the opportunity of the opening of the exhibition to announce the eight prize winners as identified by our selection panel. They were Abrie Fourie- “Love Rockets”; O Masekoameng, P Sikhosana, J Phailane, M Dlamini and J Phume of Artist Proof Studio – “Xenophobia”; Carine Zaayman – “Flesh Colour: Invisible Whiteness”; Arlene Amerler-Raviv and Dale Yudelman – “Joburg Man”; John Fleetwood in association with John Makua “Strangeness 4”;; Mbongeni Richman Buthelezi - Untitled; Pitso Chinzima “Di(s)section Joubert Park”; and Sandy Esau “Dancers”.
They, together with the other 12 works are on exhibition at the Fort until the end of September. A great opportunity to see them at the same time as the Three Women Exhibition in the Women’s Gaol next door and then do the Rampart Walk at the Fort (both covered in last week’s Citichat). After that why not have a look at the JHBARTCITY artworks already erected and look out for the Cell C works as you go.
So, for the locals - we have one work* in the Fort entrance-courtyard, then as you come out of the Fort entrance, look left and you will see another* on the wall of the ‘Florence’, go west down Kotze, left into Joubert, around the Metro Centre, up Loveday and past the Civic Theatre turning left into Hoofd, first left into Biccard and first right into Ameshoff. We are negotiating a wall in Ameshoff but it is not up yet, sorry! At the end of Ameshoff, left into Bertha (which is the continuation of Jan Smuts). As you get to the left bend onto the Queen Elizabeth Bridge there is a Cell C building completely wrapped on your right. Just after the bend is another* of ours on your right on a billboard. At the end of the bridge the road does a half left and you’ll find yourself in Simmonds with one of our works* on your left opposite the MetroMall. Turn right down Jeppe and you’ll see another work* facing you on the side of the Turbine Hall, with another* at right angles to it and as you pass Bezuidenhout there is yet another* on the third side of Turbine Hall and to your left two more** on the front of the Electric Workshop. If you stay on Jeppe heading west, under the highway you will eventually end up at the Oriental plaza where there are two works**, turn back up Bree heading east now till you get to Rissik, turn left up Rissik, left into Wolmarans and first left into Harrison. As you go down Harrison you will see the JHBARTCITY logo on your left* together with another artwork*, keep going down Harrison till you reach Main, left into Main and as you get back to Rissik you will have Gandhi Square ahead of you with one of our works* on the left of the Square facing you. Turn left into Rissik and on your right there are two more** on the old CNA building. Keep going up Rissik to exit the city if you are going northwards.
Well, we’ll start erecting the others shortly which will slightly change the route and once they are all up, please use the cell C telephone number (084- 190.0278) that is on each of the artworks to vote for your favourite – you can also dial in now as you view each of the works and you’ll get information about the artist and the works.
See you on the JHBARTCITY route, regards, neil
Friday, August 30, 2002
Friday, August 23, 2002
Constitution Hill Citichat 23 August 2002
CITICHAT 33/2002 - 23 August 2002
Constitution Hill
Confronting the past whilst looking to the future, a unique experience!
Yes I know that this edition is supposed to be part 3 of my mid-year update of Inner City Regeneration Projects but that can wait a week! I must tell you instead of something that can’t wait, something that you really mustn’t miss.
Thursday morning witnessed the opening of a variety of exhibitions at Constitution Hill in a meaningful and moving gathering that took place in the courtyard of the historic Women’s Gaol. Constitution Hill comprises a large site with high density Hillbrow residential on its east, the Metropolitan Centre and commercial Braamfontein on its west and the CBD to its south. The inner city site incorporates the historic Women’s Gaol and The Fort and our new Constitutional Court currently under construction.
About the gathering itself. Two focal groups. At one end of the scale, young people, high-school history students and their teachers from a number of city schools. At the other end of the scale, a group of mature women bound together through shared hardships and indomitable spirit. The school children have spent the last seven years of their lives in the freedom of our developing democracy, the women had spent various time periods incarcerated in the buildings that surrounded the courtyard in which we were assembled. Their ‘crime’ generally was that they were either black and had not been carrying the required identity documents or, whatever colour, that they had taken part in, instigated or led other women in demonstrations against the oppression of the apartheid regime. Apart from those who were arrested and jailed for theft, fraud, prostitution and illegal beer brewing, they actually represented the many thousands of women who were picked up off the streets “for not producing passes, for breaking the Immorality Act or simply because it was feared that they might do something subversive. They were dragged into trucks and packed into the gaol’s tiny cells, unable to contact their families.”
A third group. the rest of us, were inconsequential by comparison but mostly imbued with the passion that both our history and our future has the ability to fire up.
Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Albie Sachs, expressed the dichotomy that the occasion represented as he challenged the third group. What right did we have to be there? he asked. What right to sip tea and coffee, sit in comfortable chairs and walk over paving that had witnessed the tears, the anguish and the indignities of countless women torn away from their families often for no more a crime than the colour of their skin? In the light of the terrible past that this place represented, what right did we have to be celebrating with the other two groups? Yet, he countered, what joy and exultation this cruel and callous place now represented as we looked towards the future. To know that through the struggle of so many who had been associated with this place, the future of the youth who were present and all children throughout the county was assured. That gave us the right to come together today, acutely aware of the failures of the past and looking to the promises of the future. Past, present, future. Such mixed emotions!
This Women’s Gaol built in 1909 has a magnificent central space, oval-shaped and double-storeyed. One of the inmates recorded that when she had been arrested and brought there it was so graceful a hall that she fully expected to see beautifully gowned ladies being whirled about in waltzes – instead she found naked bodies being strip searched before being committed to the adjoining cells. Now it is hung with large format screens of see-through mesh on which are printed the images of some of those who were confined in this place, common criminals side by side with activists. Daisy de Melker, sentenced to death in 1932 for the murder of her son and two husbands. Nonathemba Funani arrested with her baby daughter on her back because she had taken part in anti-pass protests and Jeanie Noel, a Durban librarian and political activist arrested in 1976 among a group of women that included Winnie Madizela-Mandela. The exhibition shares these three women’s stories, through photographs, documents, and recordings. Visitors to the memory room are invited to listen to recordings of ex-prisoner’s memories and to record their own experiences.
The Woman’s Gaol is today the Women’s Centre, home to The Commission on Gender Equality – its function is to promote gender equality and to advise Parliament or any other legislature about laws or proposed legislation which affect gender equality and the status of women. For the next few weeks it will host World Summit delegates but is open to all to view the ‘Three Women Exhibition’, The Memory Room, various other activities including a film festival and then to move ‘next door’ to experience ‘The History of our Future: the Rampart Walk’.
So, from here out into Kotze Street which is being totally reconfigured and resurfaced and into the obliquely angled entrance to The Fort. This entrance is also hung with large see-through mesh screens carrying the images of previous inmates:- from common murderers and Boer Generals to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The press pack provides an excellent overview; “ At the centre of Constitution Hill is The Fort, surrounded by its ramparts. These were originally built between 1896 and 1899 by the Boer President, Paul Kruger, as an act of defiance against the might of Imperial Britain, and a way to keep watch over the uitlanders (foreigners) in the mining village of Johannesburg below, who were plotting an overthrow of the Boers. It was linked by telephone to Pretoria’s two forts, Klapperkop and Schanskop. In 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War, the British took Johannesburg, and imprisoned Boer soldiers in the Fort. A group of Cape Afrikaners who had fought on the side of the Boers was executed at the Fort. These killings marked the long history of The Fort as a place of punishment, confinement and abuse. Once the war was over, in 1902, The Fort reverted to being a prison again, and was Johannesburg’s main place of incarceration for eight decades.”
The entrance opens into a long courtyard where those arrested, males this time, were stripped, hosed and body-searched and then sub-divided into cells according to race. Whites within The Fort, others in the Section 4 & 5 “Natives” gaol. Just off the entrance is the ‘delousing room’ which now contains a model of Constitution Hill and other information relating to the city. From here a quick walk leads you to the northern rampart which separates The Fort from the Constitutional Court under construction. This “Rampart Walk” again provides a marvellous exhibition of images on see-through mesh screens allowing one to both look at them and through them – lenses to view the site. . The rampart provides the link or the bridge between the past – represented by the old prison buildings – and the future – as represented by the Constitutional Court. From the notes provided – “But the past remains misunderstood and the future under construction. Using South Africa’s Constitution and Bill of Rights, this exhibition looks at where we are today, standing on the ramparts of a society in transition, looking back at the difficulties of the past and the possibilities of the future….”
Probably one of he most unusual aspects of developing the strategy that will ultimately transform the site into the city’s top heritage tourism facility is that we are not being handed a ‘fait accompli’ to like or dislike as is usually the case. The public are in fact being asked to share their responses to what they see and experience in order to guide the development of the strategy. The team that produced the current exhibitions, Clear & Effect Media, are the team entrusted with the development of the overall strategy over the next year. They are a highly talented and respected group including Mark Gevisser, Terry Kurgan, Nina Cohen and Lauren Segal. Go and visit the exhibitions, take your family and friends and provide your input, this is a great experience in the making! The site is open every day from 09h00 to 17h00 except Tuesdays, parking is in Kotze Street (which will be reopened from Monday) and there is plenty of security.
Regards, neil
Constitution Hill
Confronting the past whilst looking to the future, a unique experience!
Yes I know that this edition is supposed to be part 3 of my mid-year update of Inner City Regeneration Projects but that can wait a week! I must tell you instead of something that can’t wait, something that you really mustn’t miss.
Thursday morning witnessed the opening of a variety of exhibitions at Constitution Hill in a meaningful and moving gathering that took place in the courtyard of the historic Women’s Gaol. Constitution Hill comprises a large site with high density Hillbrow residential on its east, the Metropolitan Centre and commercial Braamfontein on its west and the CBD to its south. The inner city site incorporates the historic Women’s Gaol and The Fort and our new Constitutional Court currently under construction.
About the gathering itself. Two focal groups. At one end of the scale, young people, high-school history students and their teachers from a number of city schools. At the other end of the scale, a group of mature women bound together through shared hardships and indomitable spirit. The school children have spent the last seven years of their lives in the freedom of our developing democracy, the women had spent various time periods incarcerated in the buildings that surrounded the courtyard in which we were assembled. Their ‘crime’ generally was that they were either black and had not been carrying the required identity documents or, whatever colour, that they had taken part in, instigated or led other women in demonstrations against the oppression of the apartheid regime. Apart from those who were arrested and jailed for theft, fraud, prostitution and illegal beer brewing, they actually represented the many thousands of women who were picked up off the streets “for not producing passes, for breaking the Immorality Act or simply because it was feared that they might do something subversive. They were dragged into trucks and packed into the gaol’s tiny cells, unable to contact their families.”
A third group. the rest of us, were inconsequential by comparison but mostly imbued with the passion that both our history and our future has the ability to fire up.
Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Albie Sachs, expressed the dichotomy that the occasion represented as he challenged the third group. What right did we have to be there? he asked. What right to sip tea and coffee, sit in comfortable chairs and walk over paving that had witnessed the tears, the anguish and the indignities of countless women torn away from their families often for no more a crime than the colour of their skin? In the light of the terrible past that this place represented, what right did we have to be celebrating with the other two groups? Yet, he countered, what joy and exultation this cruel and callous place now represented as we looked towards the future. To know that through the struggle of so many who had been associated with this place, the future of the youth who were present and all children throughout the county was assured. That gave us the right to come together today, acutely aware of the failures of the past and looking to the promises of the future. Past, present, future. Such mixed emotions!
This Women’s Gaol built in 1909 has a magnificent central space, oval-shaped and double-storeyed. One of the inmates recorded that when she had been arrested and brought there it was so graceful a hall that she fully expected to see beautifully gowned ladies being whirled about in waltzes – instead she found naked bodies being strip searched before being committed to the adjoining cells. Now it is hung with large format screens of see-through mesh on which are printed the images of some of those who were confined in this place, common criminals side by side with activists. Daisy de Melker, sentenced to death in 1932 for the murder of her son and two husbands. Nonathemba Funani arrested with her baby daughter on her back because she had taken part in anti-pass protests and Jeanie Noel, a Durban librarian and political activist arrested in 1976 among a group of women that included Winnie Madizela-Mandela. The exhibition shares these three women’s stories, through photographs, documents, and recordings. Visitors to the memory room are invited to listen to recordings of ex-prisoner’s memories and to record their own experiences.
The Woman’s Gaol is today the Women’s Centre, home to The Commission on Gender Equality – its function is to promote gender equality and to advise Parliament or any other legislature about laws or proposed legislation which affect gender equality and the status of women. For the next few weeks it will host World Summit delegates but is open to all to view the ‘Three Women Exhibition’, The Memory Room, various other activities including a film festival and then to move ‘next door’ to experience ‘The History of our Future: the Rampart Walk’.
So, from here out into Kotze Street which is being totally reconfigured and resurfaced and into the obliquely angled entrance to The Fort. This entrance is also hung with large see-through mesh screens carrying the images of previous inmates:- from common murderers and Boer Generals to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. The press pack provides an excellent overview; “ At the centre of Constitution Hill is The Fort, surrounded by its ramparts. These were originally built between 1896 and 1899 by the Boer President, Paul Kruger, as an act of defiance against the might of Imperial Britain, and a way to keep watch over the uitlanders (foreigners) in the mining village of Johannesburg below, who were plotting an overthrow of the Boers. It was linked by telephone to Pretoria’s two forts, Klapperkop and Schanskop. In 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War, the British took Johannesburg, and imprisoned Boer soldiers in the Fort. A group of Cape Afrikaners who had fought on the side of the Boers was executed at the Fort. These killings marked the long history of The Fort as a place of punishment, confinement and abuse. Once the war was over, in 1902, The Fort reverted to being a prison again, and was Johannesburg’s main place of incarceration for eight decades.”
The entrance opens into a long courtyard where those arrested, males this time, were stripped, hosed and body-searched and then sub-divided into cells according to race. Whites within The Fort, others in the Section 4 & 5 “Natives” gaol. Just off the entrance is the ‘delousing room’ which now contains a model of Constitution Hill and other information relating to the city. From here a quick walk leads you to the northern rampart which separates The Fort from the Constitutional Court under construction. This “Rampart Walk” again provides a marvellous exhibition of images on see-through mesh screens allowing one to both look at them and through them – lenses to view the site. . The rampart provides the link or the bridge between the past – represented by the old prison buildings – and the future – as represented by the Constitutional Court. From the notes provided – “But the past remains misunderstood and the future under construction. Using South Africa’s Constitution and Bill of Rights, this exhibition looks at where we are today, standing on the ramparts of a society in transition, looking back at the difficulties of the past and the possibilities of the future….”
Probably one of he most unusual aspects of developing the strategy that will ultimately transform the site into the city’s top heritage tourism facility is that we are not being handed a ‘fait accompli’ to like or dislike as is usually the case. The public are in fact being asked to share their responses to what they see and experience in order to guide the development of the strategy. The team that produced the current exhibitions, Clear & Effect Media, are the team entrusted with the development of the overall strategy over the next year. They are a highly talented and respected group including Mark Gevisser, Terry Kurgan, Nina Cohen and Lauren Segal. Go and visit the exhibitions, take your family and friends and provide your input, this is a great experience in the making! The site is open every day from 09h00 to 17h00 except Tuesdays, parking is in Kotze Street (which will be reopened from Monday) and there is plenty of security.
Regards, neil
Friday, August 16, 2002
Progress Review 2 Citichat 16 August 2002
CITICHAT 32/2002 - 16 August 2002
Progress Review 2
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 2.
In retrospect, I left out some ‘predominantly public sector’ projects last week so the following are still a bit mixed - public sector and private sector:-
JEPPESTOWN
East of but extremely close to the CBD, Jeppestown is an area of generally underrated character and potential. I think that one of its endearing characteristics is its scale, there is something extremely human about it that its big sister “just down the road” lacks. It reminds me of an area on the east side of New York which is delightfully special in that its old buildings and mixed use combine to provide that unique and elusive sense of place. So it is really pleasing that Council has recognised the possibilities that the area offers and is looking at a programme “to achieve a vibrant, multifunctional safe, clean and economically sustainable district.” Currently not the best in the safety stakes (or perceptions thereof), but that could be relatively easily solved with the extension of the CCTV programme, a City Improvement District providing supplementary safety and security services and the Metro Police providing some basic bylaw enforcement. Work around the Jeppestown Station is progressing and an informal trading market is planned to consolidate informal trading in the area. Some work also being done to assess the potential for mixed social and middle income housing.
CHINATOWN
At the other edge , the western end of town, a very different kind of revitalisation initiative is taking shape. Heather Dodd of Savage + Dodd, the architects working on the project to regenerate and revitalise what is one of the oldest precincts in the city, tells me that the Precinct Plan is complete and is doing the rounds for various approvals before being presented to the Inner City Committee later this year. The vision for the area is to create a distinct cultural precinct with specific identifying landmark features and to enhance the existing qualities of an urban neighbourhood. The precinct contains one of the oldest buildings in Johannesburg, the Chinese Club building. The adjacent United Club building known as the Pabst building has great architectural significance and is currently undergoing a “restorative facelift”- not quite the same thing as Cher and Michael Jackson have done, but the final product will hopefully be more durable!. Amongst a number of urban design proposals that are being looked at, are the creation of two feature ‘gateways’ to mark the heart of Chinatown much as one associates with the Chinatowns of San Francisco and London. The area still offers some great Chinese eateries and the plans for its future upgrade should draw in more plus other appropriate business.
BRAAMFONTEIN
Braamfontein, on the north of the CBD and separated from it by the east/west railway tracks, is a much younger, predominantly office precinct but which also exhibits various signs of deterioration. Not least of these is some serious slumlording in the provision of student accommodation. But Braamfontein also is home to some heavyweights such as Sappi, Liberty, SA Breweries, the JD Group, etc. These corporates have been working on a revitalisation plan for some time which will result in a major upgrade of the public environment in the northern half of the precinct. This will provide additional parking for their staff some of which, below Ameshoff and Simmonds Streets, will be available to Civic Theatre patrons at night. The city has responded by appointing an urban design team and allocating capital to ensure that the southern portion is also addressed and, together with the establishment of a CID, the overall result will be a dramatic upliftment of the whole area.
Of course, to the east of Braamfontein is the Constitution Hill development covered last week and to its west is the University of the Witwatersrand campus. Wits has recently also appointed an urban design team to look at its spatial development over the next twenty or so years and is also undertaking some redevelopment itself. The previous Dental School is currently being converted to a School of the Arts but, most importantly there is also a new willingness from the institution to re-engage with Braamfontein, an attitude which was sadly lacking in previous years. To the south of the campus, a number of night clubs, predominantly serving the city’s gay community, have emerged in what has previously been considered quite a ‘gritty’ area.
LEGISLATURE PRECINCT
Not a great deal of news is available on the upgrading of that portion of the City Hall building which previously was not part of the Legislature (which occupies the eastern half of the building) and the public open space between it and the Library, now known as Beyers Naude Gardens. I have previously recorded that all of this is going to be taken over by the Legislature and will be seriously upgraded – I gather that the project could well be far more extensive than what was previously envisaged.
These four extremely different precincts are all at various stages of revitalisation but somehow illustrate the extent of the contrasts, and opportunities, that this great city offers.
RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE
Waiting for revised cost estimates before looking seriously at how the refurbishment could proceed but I can record that there is growing interest in the re-use of the building.
JOUBERT PARK PRECINCT
I understand that the admin section of the earth-life project is complete but have heard little about progressing the previous proposals to rid the area of taxis and hawkers and generally upgrade the area.
MAIN STREET
Private sector proposals to part pedestrianise Main Street from the completed Anglo area in the west up to Gandhi Square are evidently waiting on input from the bus company.
HIGH COURT PRECINCT
Surrounding the Supreme Court, this project has been languishing for some time now, maybe a recent major letting adjacent to it will instill renewed interest in reviving what is still essentially an excellent concept.
Next week we’ll finish off this mid-year review by looking at the residental projects.
In closing, I was greatly saddened to hear of the untimely death of Prof John Muller this past week. He retired last year from his long held position of head of the Town Planning Department at Wits University. His quiet, unassuming yet incisive manner and dry sense of humour will be sorely missed.
Take care, neil
Progress Review 2
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 2.
In retrospect, I left out some ‘predominantly public sector’ projects last week so the following are still a bit mixed - public sector and private sector:-
JEPPESTOWN
East of but extremely close to the CBD, Jeppestown is an area of generally underrated character and potential. I think that one of its endearing characteristics is its scale, there is something extremely human about it that its big sister “just down the road” lacks. It reminds me of an area on the east side of New York which is delightfully special in that its old buildings and mixed use combine to provide that unique and elusive sense of place. So it is really pleasing that Council has recognised the possibilities that the area offers and is looking at a programme “to achieve a vibrant, multifunctional safe, clean and economically sustainable district.” Currently not the best in the safety stakes (or perceptions thereof), but that could be relatively easily solved with the extension of the CCTV programme, a City Improvement District providing supplementary safety and security services and the Metro Police providing some basic bylaw enforcement. Work around the Jeppestown Station is progressing and an informal trading market is planned to consolidate informal trading in the area. Some work also being done to assess the potential for mixed social and middle income housing.
CHINATOWN
At the other edge , the western end of town, a very different kind of revitalisation initiative is taking shape. Heather Dodd of Savage + Dodd, the architects working on the project to regenerate and revitalise what is one of the oldest precincts in the city, tells me that the Precinct Plan is complete and is doing the rounds for various approvals before being presented to the Inner City Committee later this year. The vision for the area is to create a distinct cultural precinct with specific identifying landmark features and to enhance the existing qualities of an urban neighbourhood. The precinct contains one of the oldest buildings in Johannesburg, the Chinese Club building. The adjacent United Club building known as the Pabst building has great architectural significance and is currently undergoing a “restorative facelift”- not quite the same thing as Cher and Michael Jackson have done, but the final product will hopefully be more durable!. Amongst a number of urban design proposals that are being looked at, are the creation of two feature ‘gateways’ to mark the heart of Chinatown much as one associates with the Chinatowns of San Francisco and London. The area still offers some great Chinese eateries and the plans for its future upgrade should draw in more plus other appropriate business.
BRAAMFONTEIN
Braamfontein, on the north of the CBD and separated from it by the east/west railway tracks, is a much younger, predominantly office precinct but which also exhibits various signs of deterioration. Not least of these is some serious slumlording in the provision of student accommodation. But Braamfontein also is home to some heavyweights such as Sappi, Liberty, SA Breweries, the JD Group, etc. These corporates have been working on a revitalisation plan for some time which will result in a major upgrade of the public environment in the northern half of the precinct. This will provide additional parking for their staff some of which, below Ameshoff and Simmonds Streets, will be available to Civic Theatre patrons at night. The city has responded by appointing an urban design team and allocating capital to ensure that the southern portion is also addressed and, together with the establishment of a CID, the overall result will be a dramatic upliftment of the whole area.
Of course, to the east of Braamfontein is the Constitution Hill development covered last week and to its west is the University of the Witwatersrand campus. Wits has recently also appointed an urban design team to look at its spatial development over the next twenty or so years and is also undertaking some redevelopment itself. The previous Dental School is currently being converted to a School of the Arts but, most importantly there is also a new willingness from the institution to re-engage with Braamfontein, an attitude which was sadly lacking in previous years. To the south of the campus, a number of night clubs, predominantly serving the city’s gay community, have emerged in what has previously been considered quite a ‘gritty’ area.
LEGISLATURE PRECINCT
Not a great deal of news is available on the upgrading of that portion of the City Hall building which previously was not part of the Legislature (which occupies the eastern half of the building) and the public open space between it and the Library, now known as Beyers Naude Gardens. I have previously recorded that all of this is going to be taken over by the Legislature and will be seriously upgraded – I gather that the project could well be far more extensive than what was previously envisaged.
These four extremely different precincts are all at various stages of revitalisation but somehow illustrate the extent of the contrasts, and opportunities, that this great city offers.
RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE
Waiting for revised cost estimates before looking seriously at how the refurbishment could proceed but I can record that there is growing interest in the re-use of the building.
JOUBERT PARK PRECINCT
I understand that the admin section of the earth-life project is complete but have heard little about progressing the previous proposals to rid the area of taxis and hawkers and generally upgrade the area.
MAIN STREET
Private sector proposals to part pedestrianise Main Street from the completed Anglo area in the west up to Gandhi Square are evidently waiting on input from the bus company.
HIGH COURT PRECINCT
Surrounding the Supreme Court, this project has been languishing for some time now, maybe a recent major letting adjacent to it will instill renewed interest in reviving what is still essentially an excellent concept.
Next week we’ll finish off this mid-year review by looking at the residental projects.
In closing, I was greatly saddened to hear of the untimely death of Prof John Muller this past week. He retired last year from his long held position of head of the Town Planning Department at Wits University. His quiet, unassuming yet incisive manner and dry sense of humour will be sorely missed.
Take care, neil
Friday, August 9, 2002
Progress Review Citichat 9 August 2002
CITICHAT 31/2002 - 9 August 2002
Progress Review
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 1.
Have been meaning for some time to do an update on what’s happening project-wise in the city. Have split it in two, this week is the first half which deals with some of the predominantly public sector initiatives which are the responsibility of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA). Next week will be an update of the predominantly private sector projects.
1. CONSTITUTION HILL
Goal: The goal of this project is, over the period mid 2001 to mid 2005, to bring this major national and international heritage site into viable, sustainable economic use, to create employment, increase the rates base and promote economic growth through the development of visitor attractions
The project is situated on the border between Braamfontein and Hillbrow, north of the Fort, and will create a constitutional and human rights precinct. It is also the zenith of the “Cultural Arc” and will become a major tourist focus. The value of the current work being undertaken is around R350 million. Exciting to see the concrete frame for the Constitutional Court itself literally springing out of the ground! You’ll be able to visit the Fort during the World Summit and see the Court construction from the top of the Fort’s northern rampart. You can also visit an exhibition of the 20 original artworks selected for JHB ART CITY in the Fort and see one of the giant enlargements in the Fort grounds.
The project is evidently proceeding to schedule
• Court construction on programme - expected completion September 2003
• Infrastructure – detailed design in progress
• Demolitions have begun on western portion of the site
• Kotze Street upgrade construction has been let and the roadworks are currently in progress.
• Super basement earthwork tender is underway
• Mortuary relocation – planning and design are underway The mortuary will relocate to a new facility being provided in the NEH Building in Hospital Hill
• Discussions are in progress with possible tenants particularly various judicial and human rights commissions.
• The retail , hospitality, commercial and residential opportunities in the development are attracting interest
• Feasibility studies for the Heritage, Education and Tourism components of the development are progressing
2. NEWTOWN
Goal: The goal of the project is to increase the cultural offerings, creative production, development and investment in Newtown in a coordinated and complementary manner, focusing on developing a range of mixed-uses and activities with an emphasis on the creative industries.
These are some of the projects that fall within Newtown:
2.1 Nelson Mandela Bridge. Have driven past the site a couple of times this week and the structure is racing ahead. The bridge is being built simultaneously from North and South and you can almost watch the gap closing as the bridge arches over the railway yards. The first of the suspension masts has been erected and everything appears to be on target for completion for April 2003.
2.2 The on and off ramps from the M2 elevated highway are nearing completion, they will be in operation before the end of this year. The ramps will give access to and from the south whilst the bridge will give access to and from the north forming an important link in the ‘Cultural Arc’.
2.3 The R100 million MetroMall is rapidly nearing its completion date of the end of this month and is already making an impressive statement at what is the eastern junction between Newtown and the CBD. It will be relieving a great deal of urban stress in the area as it starts to soak up informal traders, taxis and buses. All the formal retail has been let. The project first appeared as a proposal for a major retail development and transport facility way back in the early ‘90s – maybe even late ‘80s – so it is great to see it in its more practical final shape about to become a major contributor to the city’s normalisation.
2.4 Creative industries clustering – Turbine Hall, a blot on the ‘Newtownscape’ for as long as I can remember, is starting to look good with its new roof and replaced window panes and has attracted interest for various uses after the World Summit. Currently three of its elevations are being prepared to receive the massive artworks of JHB ART CITY. The Electric Workshop has also been receiving attention and about 24 small business facilities associated with it have been upgraded. The Bus Factory is complete – have a look at their super wrought iron fence which is an artwork in itself. The Music Centre has opened and further music, dance and film facilities are being planned. Two new restaurants have been opened.
2.5 CCTV is being rolled out in the area and CID security is being beefed up as Newtown prepares to host a wide variety of events before, during and after the World Summit such as the SA Women’s Festival; Arts Alive; Joy of Jazz; SA Fashion Week; Music in Public Spaces; Craft and Pottery Exhibition, Food Courts and Flea Markets, etc., etc.
3. FARADAY
Goal: To develop a multimodal Transportation node and associated trading spaces that can contribute to improve the transport facilities in the inner city, stimulate economic development and contribute to the environmental upgrading of the precinct.
The project is in a gritty but fascinating area on the south of the inner city both under and immediately north of the elevated freeway. It envisages incorporating the huge informal Muti market and associated traditional healing industry, taxis, retail, etc. The earthworks for the new road and taxi rank have commenced and the temporary taxi rank is now operational. Phase one buildings are nearing completion and the consolidation and relocation of the Muti market is proceeding. Tour guide training has commenced with an eye to the Summit. The inclusion of some private sector initiatives that could be really exciting are also under discussion.
4. FASHION DISTRICT
Goal: The goal of the inner city Fashion District Project is the creation of a viable, functional and sustainable Fashion District.
I think that this project in the vibey, incredibly energetic but also gritty eastern sector of the inner city is so exciting with huge potential for further SMMS development and tourism. Most of the base research has been completed and professional teams to generate a precinct plan are being sought. Funding is still needed to develop programmes that will encourage social interaction and recreation as well as for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence. A training and mentoring programme is already underway. The second Fashion Show held in June in Rees Mann’s Johannesburg Sewing Centre was a great success with three designers being invited to participate in SA Fashion Week.
5. DRILL HALL
Following the fire which substantially destroyed much of the historic building, the JDA is currently investigating various re-development options including the development of the site into a major heritage site.
As part of these investigations, a conservation plan including financial feasibilities and a programme are being developed for submission to Council later this month.
6. DOORNFONTEIN
Goal: To establish an international business services hub in the Doornfontein area in line with the city’s 2030 vision; promote economic development; stabilise the area; and strengthen and promote it as a major opportunity for support ICT infrastructure in the sub-continent.
New Doornfontein is emerging as the optimal location in terms of telecommunications infrastructure for heavy bandwidth intensive initiatives. Preliminary or pre-appraisal investigations have been completed and a detailed feasibility will be initiated shortly.
So it continues to happen in the Inner City! Have a restful long weekend and happy National Women’s Day.
regards, neil
PS Thanks for the many good wishes on the CJP ‘anniversary’. I also received some pragmatic input from two of those I mentioned who were involved in the CJP ‘birth’, Cliff McMillan from New York (not Canada!) and Richard Bradley from Washington DC. –
Cliff says; “It's good to see that the CJP's successor is alive and well.
Regarding your remarks about legitimacy, it would be worth recording how we struggled to get even that number of black participants at that time, and the efforts we went to achieve balance and avoid one-sidedness. But we did have a few very credible participants. “
Rich comments: “While I certainly agree with your analysis of the history of CJP I may take a different angle on the importance and effectiveness in the first couple of years. Most importantly I think all sectors put a stake in the ground and gave birth to a common voice that the center of the city merited attention and was of importance to all parties. Given the changing dynamics of the time I think it would be difficult to have greater expectations for actions. I think the ground work was laid at this time for the future. Legitimacy was established. And I think the city would have slid further behind without the sound of the voice from CJP.”
Progress Review
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 1.
Have been meaning for some time to do an update on what’s happening project-wise in the city. Have split it in two, this week is the first half which deals with some of the predominantly public sector initiatives which are the responsibility of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA). Next week will be an update of the predominantly private sector projects.
1. CONSTITUTION HILL
Goal: The goal of this project is, over the period mid 2001 to mid 2005, to bring this major national and international heritage site into viable, sustainable economic use, to create employment, increase the rates base and promote economic growth through the development of visitor attractions
The project is situated on the border between Braamfontein and Hillbrow, north of the Fort, and will create a constitutional and human rights precinct. It is also the zenith of the “Cultural Arc” and will become a major tourist focus. The value of the current work being undertaken is around R350 million. Exciting to see the concrete frame for the Constitutional Court itself literally springing out of the ground! You’ll be able to visit the Fort during the World Summit and see the Court construction from the top of the Fort’s northern rampart. You can also visit an exhibition of the 20 original artworks selected for JHB ART CITY in the Fort and see one of the giant enlargements in the Fort grounds.
The project is evidently proceeding to schedule
• Court construction on programme - expected completion September 2003
• Infrastructure – detailed design in progress
• Demolitions have begun on western portion of the site
• Kotze Street upgrade construction has been let and the roadworks are currently in progress.
• Super basement earthwork tender is underway
• Mortuary relocation – planning and design are underway The mortuary will relocate to a new facility being provided in the NEH Building in Hospital Hill
• Discussions are in progress with possible tenants particularly various judicial and human rights commissions.
• The retail , hospitality, commercial and residential opportunities in the development are attracting interest
• Feasibility studies for the Heritage, Education and Tourism components of the development are progressing
2. NEWTOWN
Goal: The goal of the project is to increase the cultural offerings, creative production, development and investment in Newtown in a coordinated and complementary manner, focusing on developing a range of mixed-uses and activities with an emphasis on the creative industries.
These are some of the projects that fall within Newtown:
2.1 Nelson Mandela Bridge. Have driven past the site a couple of times this week and the structure is racing ahead. The bridge is being built simultaneously from North and South and you can almost watch the gap closing as the bridge arches over the railway yards. The first of the suspension masts has been erected and everything appears to be on target for completion for April 2003.
2.2 The on and off ramps from the M2 elevated highway are nearing completion, they will be in operation before the end of this year. The ramps will give access to and from the south whilst the bridge will give access to and from the north forming an important link in the ‘Cultural Arc’.
2.3 The R100 million MetroMall is rapidly nearing its completion date of the end of this month and is already making an impressive statement at what is the eastern junction between Newtown and the CBD. It will be relieving a great deal of urban stress in the area as it starts to soak up informal traders, taxis and buses. All the formal retail has been let. The project first appeared as a proposal for a major retail development and transport facility way back in the early ‘90s – maybe even late ‘80s – so it is great to see it in its more practical final shape about to become a major contributor to the city’s normalisation.
2.4 Creative industries clustering – Turbine Hall, a blot on the ‘Newtownscape’ for as long as I can remember, is starting to look good with its new roof and replaced window panes and has attracted interest for various uses after the World Summit. Currently three of its elevations are being prepared to receive the massive artworks of JHB ART CITY. The Electric Workshop has also been receiving attention and about 24 small business facilities associated with it have been upgraded. The Bus Factory is complete – have a look at their super wrought iron fence which is an artwork in itself. The Music Centre has opened and further music, dance and film facilities are being planned. Two new restaurants have been opened.
2.5 CCTV is being rolled out in the area and CID security is being beefed up as Newtown prepares to host a wide variety of events before, during and after the World Summit such as the SA Women’s Festival; Arts Alive; Joy of Jazz; SA Fashion Week; Music in Public Spaces; Craft and Pottery Exhibition, Food Courts and Flea Markets, etc., etc.
3. FARADAY
Goal: To develop a multimodal Transportation node and associated trading spaces that can contribute to improve the transport facilities in the inner city, stimulate economic development and contribute to the environmental upgrading of the precinct.
The project is in a gritty but fascinating area on the south of the inner city both under and immediately north of the elevated freeway. It envisages incorporating the huge informal Muti market and associated traditional healing industry, taxis, retail, etc. The earthworks for the new road and taxi rank have commenced and the temporary taxi rank is now operational. Phase one buildings are nearing completion and the consolidation and relocation of the Muti market is proceeding. Tour guide training has commenced with an eye to the Summit. The inclusion of some private sector initiatives that could be really exciting are also under discussion.
4. FASHION DISTRICT
Goal: The goal of the inner city Fashion District Project is the creation of a viable, functional and sustainable Fashion District.
I think that this project in the vibey, incredibly energetic but also gritty eastern sector of the inner city is so exciting with huge potential for further SMMS development and tourism. Most of the base research has been completed and professional teams to generate a precinct plan are being sought. Funding is still needed to develop programmes that will encourage social interaction and recreation as well as for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence. A training and mentoring programme is already underway. The second Fashion Show held in June in Rees Mann’s Johannesburg Sewing Centre was a great success with three designers being invited to participate in SA Fashion Week.
5. DRILL HALL
Following the fire which substantially destroyed much of the historic building, the JDA is currently investigating various re-development options including the development of the site into a major heritage site.
As part of these investigations, a conservation plan including financial feasibilities and a programme are being developed for submission to Council later this month.
6. DOORNFONTEIN
Goal: To establish an international business services hub in the Doornfontein area in line with the city’s 2030 vision; promote economic development; stabilise the area; and strengthen and promote it as a major opportunity for support ICT infrastructure in the sub-continent.
New Doornfontein is emerging as the optimal location in terms of telecommunications infrastructure for heavy bandwidth intensive initiatives. Preliminary or pre-appraisal investigations have been completed and a detailed feasibility will be initiated shortly.
So it continues to happen in the Inner City! Have a restful long weekend and happy National Women’s Day.
regards, neil
PS Thanks for the many good wishes on the CJP ‘anniversary’. I also received some pragmatic input from two of those I mentioned who were involved in the CJP ‘birth’, Cliff McMillan from New York (not Canada!) and Richard Bradley from Washington DC. –
Cliff says; “It's good to see that the CJP's successor is alive and well.
Regarding your remarks about legitimacy, it would be worth recording how we struggled to get even that number of black participants at that time, and the efforts we went to achieve balance and avoid one-sidedness. But we did have a few very credible participants. “
Rich comments: “While I certainly agree with your analysis of the history of CJP I may take a different angle on the importance and effectiveness in the first couple of years. Most importantly I think all sectors put a stake in the ground and gave birth to a common voice that the center of the city merited attention and was of importance to all parties. Given the changing dynamics of the time I think it would be difficult to have greater expectations for actions. I think the ground work was laid at this time for the future. Legitimacy was established. And I think the city would have slid further behind without the sound of the voice from CJP.”
Tuesday, August 6, 2002
Progress Review 3 & BBP
CITICHAT 35/2002 - 6 September 2002
Progress Review 3 & BBP
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 3.
Instead of doing a listing of the remaining projects, which I’ve been threatening to do for weeks, here are three very different new projects typical of the mix of investment that the city is starting to attract. BUT FIRST! The Summit is over bar the shouting (which has already started!) - “it was a success!” – “it didn’t achieve its objectives!” I guess it just depends where you’re coming from. I never had an opportunity to sit in on any of the Conference sessions but did get to the Ubuntu Village and to the Waterdome. I thought that they were both well managed and certainly well supported – the Ubuntu Village Arts and Crafts Imbizo was stunning.
The end of the Summit inevitably means the end of the highly visible presence of law and order - and the endless cavalcades! On the 15-20 minute motorway trip between the CBD and Sandton, one has consistently seen at least twenty police vehicles per trip as opposed to the one or two a week we are used to. However, from my point of view, the metro area has benefited from tens of millions of rand invested in upgrading infrastructure which probably wouldn’t have happened for many years otherwise. Lots more employment created even if only short-term and everything is looking spruce and neat. I haven’t heard too many criticisms so the ubiquitous doom, gloom and disaster brigade have once again been proved wrong and the city has done a creditable job.
Linking the Summit to projects – attended the launch of the “Partnership for delivery of Primary Health care including HIV/AIDS Programme”. The President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi signed an agreement with our Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, which will start generating some 50 million Euro funding spread over five provinces including our own Gauteng. So what has this to do with urban revitalisation in Joburg? Well, it has provided the impetus for the development of a Hillbrow Health Precinct over a large area to the south of the Fort and west of Hillbrow. (between Joubert and Klein Streets). The City has formed a partnership with Wits University’s Reproductive Health Research Unit combining local economic development and urban regeneration with addressing HIV/AIDS. The Precinct will encompass the old Esselen Street Clinic which has looked the worse for wear for some time and it and various adjacent decaying buildings will be upgraded as well as the public environment. It isn’t an isolated area in that it locks into the revitalisation activity of the adjacent Constitution Hill development – so the urban upgrade spreads! Come to think of it I didn’t hear our Minister of Health mention “HIV/AIDS” in her speech!!!!!!!
Then there is the R50 million “Union Square” private sector retail development north of the Jack Mincer Taxi Rank and next to Joubert Park – a gritty centre-city area if there ever was one! – so the development is particularly welcome. The Taxi Rank turns around six thousand taxis a day and the area has about 22 000 residential units which surround the site so it will cater for both the huge commuter traffic as well as the residential population. Score Supermarket is the anchor tenant taking 2 000 square metres as Score’s flagship store in Joeys. I see Gavin Sach’s name mentioned in the press details, well done Gavin. Gavin, the CBD property broker for JHI – is one of the few of his ilk who has exhibited great faith in the city for many years and I know will be delighted at this new initiative.
Three years ago the city launched its “Better Buildings Programme”. The programme seeks to stimulate new investment into the renovation of bad buildings in the inner city by marrying buildings in poor repair and with large arrears with investors willing to upgrade the property and institute high level and sustained management. The Council facilitates the process by acquiring the building, writing off the accumulated debt of the rates and service charges owing and charging a nominal purchase price for the property to approved developers. Financial institutions are reciprocating the Council write-offs on the non-performing mortgage bonds. The first of these projects to be completed, Lake Success in Hillbrow, was officially opened about three weeks ago. The Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) acquired the building when it was in a parlous state – “The lifts did not work as their motors had been stolen. Many of the units had been vandalised with broken cupboards in kitchens and bathrooms. The sewerage system was broken and for a long time raw sewage had spilled onto the basement floor and caused the parking basement to collapse. Pools of stagnant sewage added to the other health hazards of rats and cockroaches." Yuk! The opening showcased a beautifully restored building providing 140 bachelor units, 13 rooms and 1 three bedroom unit. In line with JHC’s policy of acquiring properties in a precinct so that the external environment can also be more broadly impacted on, they have purchased a building opposite Lake Success, Crest Hill, which is actually in worse condition than Lake Success was originally. JHC’s innovative approach to management and community upliftment will guarantee the success of these projects which will together cost R10 million of which R3 million is in the form of institutional subsidies. Talking of JHC reminds me that their enthusiastic CEO, Taffy Adler, is spending 5 months in the USA working with Shorebank, a specialised housing bank so expect even more innovative thinking from this model company when Taffy gets back early next year.
A European Union funded health programme with urban renewal spin-offs; a major private sector retail investment and the first of the Better Buildings projects which is a public/private residential intervention are examples of the diversity of projects, investments and funding which is accompanying the continuing upsurge of interest in the Johannesburg Inner City.
Have a great week-end, neil
Progress Review 3 & BBP
Mid-year Update of Inner City Regeneration Projects - 3.
Instead of doing a listing of the remaining projects, which I’ve been threatening to do for weeks, here are three very different new projects typical of the mix of investment that the city is starting to attract. BUT FIRST! The Summit is over bar the shouting (which has already started!) - “it was a success!” – “it didn’t achieve its objectives!” I guess it just depends where you’re coming from. I never had an opportunity to sit in on any of the Conference sessions but did get to the Ubuntu Village and to the Waterdome. I thought that they were both well managed and certainly well supported – the Ubuntu Village Arts and Crafts Imbizo was stunning.
The end of the Summit inevitably means the end of the highly visible presence of law and order - and the endless cavalcades! On the 15-20 minute motorway trip between the CBD and Sandton, one has consistently seen at least twenty police vehicles per trip as opposed to the one or two a week we are used to. However, from my point of view, the metro area has benefited from tens of millions of rand invested in upgrading infrastructure which probably wouldn’t have happened for many years otherwise. Lots more employment created even if only short-term and everything is looking spruce and neat. I haven’t heard too many criticisms so the ubiquitous doom, gloom and disaster brigade have once again been proved wrong and the city has done a creditable job.
Linking the Summit to projects – attended the launch of the “Partnership for delivery of Primary Health care including HIV/AIDS Programme”. The President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi signed an agreement with our Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, which will start generating some 50 million Euro funding spread over five provinces including our own Gauteng. So what has this to do with urban revitalisation in Joburg? Well, it has provided the impetus for the development of a Hillbrow Health Precinct over a large area to the south of the Fort and west of Hillbrow. (between Joubert and Klein Streets). The City has formed a partnership with Wits University’s Reproductive Health Research Unit combining local economic development and urban regeneration with addressing HIV/AIDS. The Precinct will encompass the old Esselen Street Clinic which has looked the worse for wear for some time and it and various adjacent decaying buildings will be upgraded as well as the public environment. It isn’t an isolated area in that it locks into the revitalisation activity of the adjacent Constitution Hill development – so the urban upgrade spreads! Come to think of it I didn’t hear our Minister of Health mention “HIV/AIDS” in her speech!!!!!!!
Then there is the R50 million “Union Square” private sector retail development north of the Jack Mincer Taxi Rank and next to Joubert Park – a gritty centre-city area if there ever was one! – so the development is particularly welcome. The Taxi Rank turns around six thousand taxis a day and the area has about 22 000 residential units which surround the site so it will cater for both the huge commuter traffic as well as the residential population. Score Supermarket is the anchor tenant taking 2 000 square metres as Score’s flagship store in Joeys. I see Gavin Sach’s name mentioned in the press details, well done Gavin. Gavin, the CBD property broker for JHI – is one of the few of his ilk who has exhibited great faith in the city for many years and I know will be delighted at this new initiative.
Three years ago the city launched its “Better Buildings Programme”. The programme seeks to stimulate new investment into the renovation of bad buildings in the inner city by marrying buildings in poor repair and with large arrears with investors willing to upgrade the property and institute high level and sustained management. The Council facilitates the process by acquiring the building, writing off the accumulated debt of the rates and service charges owing and charging a nominal purchase price for the property to approved developers. Financial institutions are reciprocating the Council write-offs on the non-performing mortgage bonds. The first of these projects to be completed, Lake Success in Hillbrow, was officially opened about three weeks ago. The Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) acquired the building when it was in a parlous state – “The lifts did not work as their motors had been stolen. Many of the units had been vandalised with broken cupboards in kitchens and bathrooms. The sewerage system was broken and for a long time raw sewage had spilled onto the basement floor and caused the parking basement to collapse. Pools of stagnant sewage added to the other health hazards of rats and cockroaches." Yuk! The opening showcased a beautifully restored building providing 140 bachelor units, 13 rooms and 1 three bedroom unit. In line with JHC’s policy of acquiring properties in a precinct so that the external environment can also be more broadly impacted on, they have purchased a building opposite Lake Success, Crest Hill, which is actually in worse condition than Lake Success was originally. JHC’s innovative approach to management and community upliftment will guarantee the success of these projects which will together cost R10 million of which R3 million is in the form of institutional subsidies. Talking of JHC reminds me that their enthusiastic CEO, Taffy Adler, is spending 5 months in the USA working with Shorebank, a specialised housing bank so expect even more innovative thinking from this model company when Taffy gets back early next year.
A European Union funded health programme with urban renewal spin-offs; a major private sector retail investment and the first of the Better Buildings projects which is a public/private residential intervention are examples of the diversity of projects, investments and funding which is accompanying the continuing upsurge of interest in the Johannesburg Inner City.
Have a great week-end, neil
Thursday, August 1, 2002
CJP Citichat 1 August 2002
CITICHAT 30/2002 - 1 August 2002
CJP 10 Years
Anniversary reminiscences!
Had to start this week’s Citichat yesterday so that I could legitimately use the 1st August date! Ten years ago, on the 1st August 1992, the Central Johannesburg Partnership (CJP) opened the doors of its first home on the 44th floor of the Carlton Centre. Whilst lots of water has flowed under the bridge during this past decade, the Inner City, that has so often been pronounced in its terminal stages, has not only outlasted many of its critics but its pulse is undoubtedly stronger than before, and on the ascendancy. The doom and gloom brigade still exists but they are typical of the many who, whilst happy to earn their living from its soil, have never a good word to say for the city or country of their birth or adoption.
Whilst the 1st August 1992 was the CJP’s day of birth (following an eight and a bit months gestation period) its conception was over a two day ‘affair(e)’ on the 24th and 25th November 1991. The occasion was a workshop entitled “Strategic Initiative for Central Johannesburg.” The midwife was Richard Bradley, then President of the International Downtown Association, now Executive Director of Washington DC’s Downtown DC Business Improvement District. Rich was ‘assisted by’ Cliff McMillan, now in Canada I believe, and Diana Mayne -haven’t heard from Diana in years!
Whilst I opened the doors as Executive Director on 1 August 1992, I actually wasn’t present at the workshop so I dug up the files in our archives. It makes interesting reading given what has transpired since then. The stated aims of the “Strategic Initiative for Central Johannesburg” were:
1.To share and exchange views on our vision for the future – what city centre do we want?
2.To identify the major problems of the city centre, achieve consensus on key issues
and establish priorities.
3.Decide on the structure and resources necessary for implementation.
Judging from the list of 164 delegates, the workshop appears to have been well attended but the business sector names today read as a ‘who’s who’ of the northern suburbs business elite. Only 4.25% of the delegates were female and 13.5% black! Of the six city councillors present none remain in that capacity today - although one has ‘graduated’ to Provincial Government, whilst not one of the 20 senior council officials listed as delegates (19 of whom were white) are with that body any longer!
With such parentage it is a miracle that we have survived at all but I guess that the numbers and proportions reflected those times, white, male and illegitimate!
Our early ‘childhood’, 1992 to 1995, was not a particularly happy one but then it was quite a dysfunctional family from the beginning. We were established as a tri-lateral organisation which means that we had three parents, Business, Community (I think ‘emerging community’ would be a more appropriate name given that there was little cohesion at that time from what was essentially a disparate group of political activists) and of course a non-democratic city council. Whilst all three sectors pledged unity of purpose, my take was that the agendas on the table were vastly different. Business, understandably ‘to protect and enhance my assets’; Community, understandably ‘to use the opportunity to accelerate democratic change’ and Council, equally understandably given our history, ‘to make sure no-one usurps our role’. This last was interestingly during a period when local authority political paralysis was prevalent – it was as though a decision had been taken that no action from the council at all would cause the least acrimony at a time when politicians were having to come to terms with a future vastly different to the one they had historically enjoyed. For me, ’92 to ’95 were therefore more to be used as a period for research and learning. Research into where the city was and why, and learning about the forces that that make ordinary cities disasters and the forces that make ordinary cities into great cities.
With the first local authority democratic elections in the history of the country in 1994 and in the history of the city in late 1995, the CJP’s three parents agreed to a divorce. Each would now take on an independent but co-operative role. Many of the community leaders associated with the CJP were absorbed into various levels of government. Nearly all the council officials and elected councillors rode off into the sunset and the CJP became a non-profit organisation representing business interests. In that role it was certainly more effective than as the ‘ham in the sandwich’ over the prior three years.
This business representative role was however only to last for a further two years until a further restructure was implemented in early 1996 and which still exists through to today, that of independent or private non-profit. From 1997, business interests were restructured into a Section 21 company, ‘The Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition’ (JICBC), which the CJP manages on an arm’s length basis. Our income is generated from numerous activities which include private urban management activities through the establishment and management of city improvement districts (CIDs), urban research; managing various city related non-profit specialist companies, undertaking city projects co-ordination as well as acting as a catalyst for the development of projects and processes that we believe are in the city’s best interests. It is those last five words, “in the city’s best interests” that I believe have been critical in the CJP’s continued existence. Because we ‘belong’ to no single faction or persuasion, we have for the past six-and-a-half years, from 1996 to today, been able to maintain our role as an independent participant in the city’s exciting ‘long walk back’ to normalisation, politically, structurally, socially and culturally
In all three of our roles, tri-lateral, business representative and finally private non-profit, we have had successes and failures, such is the nature of any undertaking. But I do believe that the CJP has been a very real part of the city’s revitalisation process through one of the most critical periods of the history of the Inner City. But then I’m biased!
PS Support the Mayor’s clean up campaign 3rd August 2002 so that Joeys can do the previously unthinkable and win the Gauteng Province’s Bontle ke Botho Cleanest Metro, Cleanest Ward and Cleanest Schools Competition. See you on the street!
Regards, neil
CJP 10 Years
Anniversary reminiscences!
Had to start this week’s Citichat yesterday so that I could legitimately use the 1st August date! Ten years ago, on the 1st August 1992, the Central Johannesburg Partnership (CJP) opened the doors of its first home on the 44th floor of the Carlton Centre. Whilst lots of water has flowed under the bridge during this past decade, the Inner City, that has so often been pronounced in its terminal stages, has not only outlasted many of its critics but its pulse is undoubtedly stronger than before, and on the ascendancy. The doom and gloom brigade still exists but they are typical of the many who, whilst happy to earn their living from its soil, have never a good word to say for the city or country of their birth or adoption.
Whilst the 1st August 1992 was the CJP’s day of birth (following an eight and a bit months gestation period) its conception was over a two day ‘affair(e)’ on the 24th and 25th November 1991. The occasion was a workshop entitled “Strategic Initiative for Central Johannesburg.” The midwife was Richard Bradley, then President of the International Downtown Association, now Executive Director of Washington DC’s Downtown DC Business Improvement District. Rich was ‘assisted by’ Cliff McMillan, now in Canada I believe, and Diana Mayne -haven’t heard from Diana in years!
Whilst I opened the doors as Executive Director on 1 August 1992, I actually wasn’t present at the workshop so I dug up the files in our archives. It makes interesting reading given what has transpired since then. The stated aims of the “Strategic Initiative for Central Johannesburg” were:
1.To share and exchange views on our vision for the future – what city centre do we want?
2.To identify the major problems of the city centre, achieve consensus on key issues
and establish priorities.
3.Decide on the structure and resources necessary for implementation.
Judging from the list of 164 delegates, the workshop appears to have been well attended but the business sector names today read as a ‘who’s who’ of the northern suburbs business elite. Only 4.25% of the delegates were female and 13.5% black! Of the six city councillors present none remain in that capacity today - although one has ‘graduated’ to Provincial Government, whilst not one of the 20 senior council officials listed as delegates (19 of whom were white) are with that body any longer!
With such parentage it is a miracle that we have survived at all but I guess that the numbers and proportions reflected those times, white, male and illegitimate!
Our early ‘childhood’, 1992 to 1995, was not a particularly happy one but then it was quite a dysfunctional family from the beginning. We were established as a tri-lateral organisation which means that we had three parents, Business, Community (I think ‘emerging community’ would be a more appropriate name given that there was little cohesion at that time from what was essentially a disparate group of political activists) and of course a non-democratic city council. Whilst all three sectors pledged unity of purpose, my take was that the agendas on the table were vastly different. Business, understandably ‘to protect and enhance my assets’; Community, understandably ‘to use the opportunity to accelerate democratic change’ and Council, equally understandably given our history, ‘to make sure no-one usurps our role’. This last was interestingly during a period when local authority political paralysis was prevalent – it was as though a decision had been taken that no action from the council at all would cause the least acrimony at a time when politicians were having to come to terms with a future vastly different to the one they had historically enjoyed. For me, ’92 to ’95 were therefore more to be used as a period for research and learning. Research into where the city was and why, and learning about the forces that that make ordinary cities disasters and the forces that make ordinary cities into great cities.
With the first local authority democratic elections in the history of the country in 1994 and in the history of the city in late 1995, the CJP’s three parents agreed to a divorce. Each would now take on an independent but co-operative role. Many of the community leaders associated with the CJP were absorbed into various levels of government. Nearly all the council officials and elected councillors rode off into the sunset and the CJP became a non-profit organisation representing business interests. In that role it was certainly more effective than as the ‘ham in the sandwich’ over the prior three years.
This business representative role was however only to last for a further two years until a further restructure was implemented in early 1996 and which still exists through to today, that of independent or private non-profit. From 1997, business interests were restructured into a Section 21 company, ‘The Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition’ (JICBC), which the CJP manages on an arm’s length basis. Our income is generated from numerous activities which include private urban management activities through the establishment and management of city improvement districts (CIDs), urban research; managing various city related non-profit specialist companies, undertaking city projects co-ordination as well as acting as a catalyst for the development of projects and processes that we believe are in the city’s best interests. It is those last five words, “in the city’s best interests” that I believe have been critical in the CJP’s continued existence. Because we ‘belong’ to no single faction or persuasion, we have for the past six-and-a-half years, from 1996 to today, been able to maintain our role as an independent participant in the city’s exciting ‘long walk back’ to normalisation, politically, structurally, socially and culturally
In all three of our roles, tri-lateral, business representative and finally private non-profit, we have had successes and failures, such is the nature of any undertaking. But I do believe that the CJP has been a very real part of the city’s revitalisation process through one of the most critical periods of the history of the Inner City. But then I’m biased!
PS Support the Mayor’s clean up campaign 3rd August 2002 so that Joeys can do the previously unthinkable and win the Gauteng Province’s Bontle ke Botho Cleanest Metro, Cleanest Ward and Cleanest Schools Competition. See you on the street!
Regards, neil
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