On Wednesday, 24 April, Executive Mayor of City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba announced the single biggest property investment the City of Johannesburg has ever made through private sector development.
Through the release of City properties to the private sector for redevelopment, the City expects to realize R20 billion in expected investment value, which will soon be visible in the inner-city with 24 developments set to start within six (6) months. This is in addition to the three developments already underway in Hillbrow and Newtown.
This is indeed the biggest number of properties awarded simultaneously in the City’s history. This is also the largest number of mixed-use private sector developments focusing on residential and student accommodation being facilitated by the City at once.
These developments come as a result of the prospectus of 71 properties that were released to the private sector in 2017 as part of the Inner City Revitalisation Programme. These were in addition to the 13 properties council released initially. Council’s approval of the latest batch of 70 properties in February brought the total number of properties released to the private sector for mixed-use development to 154 since the programme was launched in October 2017.
For the City, this is just the start of the change we are bringing to the City, with more even more buildings and developments set to take place in the future.
For the City, these developments also represent renewed investor confidence in the potential held within the inner city.
These developments are predominantly mixed-use, with emphasis on affordable residential units, affordable student accommodation and affordable retail spaces for SMMEs. However, some developments will deliver solely residential or student accommodation.
In total, this first group of developments is also expected to yield 10096 jobs opportunities within the City and up approximately 6500 housing units costing between R900 per month, per unit excluding utilities, to R4500 per month.
Though plans are still in the approval phase, it is expected that of 1500 of these will comprise of student beds.
The properties are in Johannesburg Central, Yeoville, Berea, Vrededorp, Fairview, Salisbury, Marshalltown, Wolhuter, Turffontein and City and Suburban. With these developments set to commence soon, 27 developments will be under construction at the same time in the inner city.
It is clear, therefore, that turning the inner city into a construction site is certainly no longer only a dream, but a thrilling reality.
Through the City’s Inclusionary Housing Framework, which makes provision for new developments to include at least 30% affordable housing, residents of Johannesburg can now also live where they choose across Johannesburg with better access to jobs and opportunities.
Since coming into office, the multi-party government has made tackling the City’s housing crisis one of its top priorities for bringing change to Johannesburg. The Inner City Revitalisation Programme is key to achieving our vision for the City as it will assist in addressing not only the housing crisis but also create much-needed jobs.
The multi-party government remains steadfast in its commitment to restoring the former glory of the Joburg inner city and improving the lives of the residents who see it as a place to live, work and play.