'Nodes' lead Jozi revival

23 February 2015 - 01:59 By Penwell Dlamini and Shenaaz Jamal
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MODERN LIVING: An artist's impression of the Park Central building, in Rosebank, northern Johannesburg, which will have a clubhouse, pool, entertainment areas, a bar and restaurant, a nursery school and a gym
MODERN LIVING: An artist's impression of the Park Central building, in Rosebank, northern Johannesburg, which will have a clubhouse, pool, entertainment areas, a bar and restaurant, a nursery school and a gym
Image: PAM GOLDING

Johannesburg's peri-urban suburbs are beginning to take the lead in development, attracting private investment and stimulating economic growth.

Such "nodes", as they are known in town planning parlance, have enjoyed a higher level of growth and development.

Parkhurst, Sandton, Midrand and Rosebank have turned Johannesburg into one of the most attractive areas for property developers.

Rosebank is attracting billions of rands. One of the turning points in its fortunes was the construction of a Gautrain station.

One result of investors' bullishness is a 20-storey building that will soon go up in Rosebank as the city implements its high population density policy.

Proposals for a new Dunkeld shopping centre along Jan Smuts Avenue, linking Illovo Boulevard to Rosebank, have been submitted to the City of Johannesburg.

Park Central, a R1-billion residential property, is another new development. It will be completed in November 2018. Units will cost between R1.75-million and R16-million for a three-bedroom penthouse.

Peet Strauss, development manager for Pam Golding Properties, said the company has a 20-year plan for Rosebank, where land is still cheaper than in Sandton.

"Rosebank is a fantastic hub to work and live in," said Strauss. "It is a bigger Melrose Arch."

Another growing node is Waterfall City, in Midrand, a private-sector investment. It will feature townhouses, country-living, small-stand houses and commercial property.

Big companies - among them PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cell C, Group 5, Altech, MB Technologies, Virgin Active, Premier Foods and Honda Motor SA - have already bought into the development to house their offices.

Private healthcare supplier Netcare has built a hospital to take care of the health needs of the rich moving into the development.

But the older, neglected nodes of the city, such as Florida, Brixton and Roodepoort, are in decline.

The city hopes that building its own housing in some of these areas will attract private-sector investment.

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