The City of Johannesburg has appointed estate agents on a commission basis to buy properties along Louis Botha Avenue in Orange Grove and other parts of eastern Johannesburg to make way for its "corridors of freedom", a series of planned mixed-use, high-density residential areas to be linked to transport arteries.
But the property owners are frustrated by the city's lack of communication. They say no effort has been made to inform them of how the developments will affect them.
The "corridors of freedom" project is aimed at changing the urban space by increasing density in areas that benefit from the city's new transport infrastructure, such as the bus rapid transit system.
Nine areas have been identified for this new spatial development but three are a priority. These are the Empire-Perth, Louis Botha and Turffontein areas.
In the past financial year the city spent R250-million facilitating the purchase of land and other infrastructure.
Construction of Phase 1C of the BRT system has begun along Louis Botha Avenue.
One of the property owners, who declined to be named, received a call from an estate agent who told him his property was earmarked for demolition to make way for the development.
He was told his house would be evaluated and a price agreed on and that this would have to be done quickly. After his house had been bought, he would be allowed to live in it until about three months before construction began .
About 400 properties have allegedly been earmarked for demolition in Orange Grove alone.
News of this came as a shock to many property owners.
"As it stands, I do not have any communication from the city. How will I then engage with an estate agent?" one of them said.
"At this stage we do not know if the person we are dealing with is [legit]. Anybody can call and say they are an estate agent acting on behalf of the city."
City of Joburg spokesman Nthatisi Modingoane said yesterday the metro did not intend to forcefully acquire properties in Orange Grove or any other area.
"The properties that the city seeks to acquire [form part of] its development visions..." said Modingoane.
The "procuring" of properties was not part of the BRT development as this would require minimal land along Louis Botha Avenue, he said.
"We've been informed that some of the estate agents acting on behalf of the city have been aggressive and threatening.
"[This is] certainly not on instruction of the city and the city regrets [it]," he said.
Government’s tactics in buying up land for BRT
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