ONCE people come back on to the street, you know that you have won the battle. This simple, yet important observation is a yardstick by which property developer Gerald Olitzki, of Olitzki Property Holdings, measures the success of his projects.
Confident in the upturn of the inner city: Gerald OlitzkiConfident in the upturn of the inner city: Gerald Olitzki And soon, he promised, people would be returning in throngs to the newly created Fox Street pedestrian boulevard, his latest initiative, to sip coffee at its cafes or sup on juicy curries at the Indian Restaurant.
With more than a decade of experience in property development in the inner city, Olitzki’s pithy comments on his own journey were received with much appreciation and agreeable shakes of the head by fellow developers and business people at the Inner City Regeneration Seminar, which took place at Turbine Hall in Newtown on 12 May.
“When I started there was absolutely no light at the end of the tunnel. There was no indication that there was a future for this [his upgrade of Gandhi Square].” That was 1989, with the inner city at the zenith of its decline.
Olitzki said he had a very clear picture in his head of what should take place. It took years to convince authorities that this development was a good idea, especially as other businesses were scurrying to get out of the inner city at the same time.
He believes you have to fix up a whole bunch of buildings, not just one, and upgrade the public environment at the same time.
Sweeping changes and small swipes
Confident in the upturn of the inner city: Gerald OlitzkiThe Inner city is a success story, says Josie Adler But whether you go for sweeping changes by the likes of Afhco and Olitzki or small swipes to the urban environment such as the new park in Hillbrow, what was clear from the day-long seminar and the wide range of speakers and their successful projects was that each had their own recipe for success, a unique approach and most definitely their own vision.
Put together, all have made a profound change to the inner city, bringing out the urban sparkle of this human and colourful African centre.
Speaking of small things – inner city stalwart Josie Adler reminded everyone that once, not so long ago, you could find rats as big as cats in the alleys of Hillbrow. But in determined and small ways, she has over the years chased the rats into the sea and the rubble into the dump to create what is today the success story of the eKhaya Neighbourhood, a city improvement district that works well.
Tenants are renting for longer periods. Children are hop-scotching in the street, once filled with rubble and raw sewer. Always the pragmatist, Adler said the turnabout was not so much due to urban upgrades and law enforcement as to sustained relationship building and urban management. “It is not rocket science.”
But, whether it was Olitzki who had “this idea in his head”, Adler who spoke of her next “dream”, or an individual investor like Isaac Chalumbira of Lionshare Holdings who had a “realisation”, there was one thing the speakers at the seminar all shared – a passion for the inner city.
Almost off-handedly, Chalumbira ran through his substantial development portfolio, which to date stands at 17 building refurbishments across Joburg. His focus lies in the inner city though, where 80 percent of his time and energy is centred.
He has recently completed a refurbishment in Hillbrow, opting for bachelor and one-bed apartments to maximise his profit margins. Interest in the accommodation exceeded all expectations, especially among families, he recalled. It made him realise that developers also had a responsibility to provide the right mix of development, “finding a balance between profits and social responsibility”.
Sharing another trait common among inner city stakeholders – that of almost excessive optimism – Chalumbira had good news for potential investors. He believes the market is far from saturated, with the average 75m2 flat still costing 25 percent less than the national average of R700 000.
“All in all, it is just the beginning. We have hardly scraped the surface,” Clean, leafy streets are now a common sight in inner city areas like HillbrowClean, leafy streets are now a common sight in inner city areas like Hillbrow. Olitzki added.
A study initiated by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) in 2008 to research the influence of its area-based interventions in the inner city, found that the agency in turn had provided a necessary platform for private sector investment and re-investment into these areas.
Where the JDA has invested, the level of private investment has increased markedly. In fact, in six areas where it spent a total of R393-million between 2001 and 2007, the private sector invested an additional R5,8-billion in refurbishment, conversion and upgrade. Vacancy rates have declined in all these areas – and higher rentals have been achieved.
The Halala Joburg Awards and the conference aimed to highlight some of these investments, showing what could be done with some vision and a willingness to take risks from business partners, Lael Bethlehem, the outgoing chief executive of the JDA, reminded everyone.
“The story of inner city regeneration is a business story too.”
Bethlehem’s contract with the JDA expires at the end of July but she will continue her inner city story. She will be taking up a position with Standard Bank as a property developer focussing specifically on property development in the inner city.