Urban Apartments sold out at 87 Commissioner St
I met a girl the other day that had to be one of the most pessimistic people ever – all she did was criticise everything about Joburg – vehemently assuring me that the Inner City Regeneration is all HYPE and that not much is really happening downtown – she confidently proclaimed that Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown is a complete White Elephant and that we’re living in LALA land if we thi…
nk it’s going to happen downtown.
I decided to refute those negative and depressing weak allegations by doing some hands on investigating into exactly what is going down – this is the first of many articles to come on Joburg City, the building developments and the real progress thats happening. We know better than her – let’s hope she reads this and gets a wake-up call.
Every time I drive past the city or go downtown in the daytime, I fall deeper and deeper in love with Jozi centre. There’s something about it that catches your heart – it may be the juxtaposition of age-old grandeur mixed with neo-Afro buzz… or the sounds, silence, music, pace and energy of everyone that works and lives there… I dont know what it is but eish – Ngiyamthanda lo.
Many of you may have heard of 44 Stanley in Milpark by now (NIcola Deane’s Birthday Party is on there- check the article) – it’s an awesome development that is great to just hang out in… Brian Green, one of the powerdrills behind it, decided to venture closer to the heart of the city and together with two business partners, truly put his money where his mouth is and invest in the city.
They purchased a gigantic 8-story building at 87 Commissioner street, over the road from the FnB building, near the Rand Club and the CornerHouse development (we will feature this soon)… It used to be a bank building and is enormous and built in a style we just don’t see anymore. They put the word out and started looking for potential investors – people that want to buy property in the city centre and live there. Within 4 weeks all 20 apartments had been sold and deposits received.
87 Commissioner street was built in 1938, as Brian says – it’s large monolithic appearance gives it a “Voortrekker Monument” feel however there is something quaint and appealing about the interior structure which is a square shape with four sides all opening onto an inner courtyard.
When complete, 87 Commissioner will have 20 apartments, ranging from 80m2 to 240m2, they will all have no more than two bedrooms and large, open-plan spaces – all the original Parquet floors will be refurbished and where possible, Juliette-style balconies and breakfast decks will be added on to give an outdoor experience. Brian and his two partners will each own a penthouse on the top floors of the building, where they will be building a private swimming pool – their penthouses will range from 160m2 – 240m2 (lucky shmucks – I boogs a swim in that pool).
The apartments all went for between R320 000 to R640 000 depending on the square meterage and situation – this buys the owners a lockable shell with rooms sectioned off, a distribution board, up to two waste and water areas depending on the size.
There is a broad mix of people who have purchased the apartments, from Architects to United Nations staff through to SABC high flyers and there is a good mix of age and race. Most buyers are professionals between the age of 30 – 45 – it is their second home and they will all be living there – there were only 3-4 flats that were sold to speculators, both here and abroad – they will be renting them out as an investment.
Brian says that everyone that purchased an apartment believes strongly in the CIty and LOVES it, they really want to live there. He says that they view it as “Rarified Stock” and that in a few years time they know that they will be overwhelmed with echoes of “You bought it for WHAT??”
The building has heritage status and therefore much negotiation must be done before work can go ahead. The residential shells will be completed by the end of 2005 and the owners will all be able to move in and start working on their interiors…
The ground floor has an interesting story too – it is a large 900m2 foyer area where scenes from the movie Stander were shot… Brian says that this space will be transformed into a hip “LEGEND” inner city restaurant and bar catering for a range of clientelle but definitely the place to be kinda space. They are busy negotiating with fabulous brands such as Louis Vuitton to find a visionary, international architectural brand to do the concept, styling and decor of the restaurant. Stylistically Brian is inspired by bars such as the famous Atlantic Bar and Grill in London and the East Side Cafe in Cape Town – the space has an wide beautiful roof that will be transformed into a sliding roof that will open up to the city night sky (and the apartments above!)
Brian hopes that by the time this space is complete – the changes within the city will start to be very noticeable and the opening launch of the restaurant will coincide with the general launch the inner city lifestyle. We hope so too – HURRY UP!!!
The good news is that a prominent Ad agency has already expressed interest in taking over the whole of the second floor which Brian was considering converting into a Lounge/Boardroom/Wellness Centre space – however the Ad agency is in love with the building and the central location and want to move their offices to in there.
The pic shows the view from one of the lower floors – so exciting. This project is all sold out – but Brian assures us not to worry as they have many more projects up their sleeves…
YOU GO BOYS
