Johannesburg’s Towers Main building in the ABSA Precinct has a new owner and a new lease on life.
Divercity Urban Renewal Fund has taken transfer of the 30-story building, giving it an exciting new future and an innovative redevelopment. Once completed, the development will be valued at over R400 million.
The WBHO/Motheo Joint Venture has been appointed as the contractor for the project. The first steps in constructing the next chapter for the tower has begun. A hoist has been erected up the entire elevation of the 140-meter-tall building and it will be used to take materials to the upper floors. Hoarding has been positioned carefully around the base of the property too.
This redevelopment initiative is a substantial investment in inner Joburg. Divercity’s purpose is to renew and to re-energise South Africa’s urban centres by developing unique inner-city precincts. Its key shareholders and stakeholders are Atterbury Property, Ithemba Property and Talis Property Fund, and its cornerstone investors are RMH Property and Nedbank Property Partners.
Divercity integrates commercial buildings and affordable residential accommodation to create multifunctional, inclusive and diverse neighbourhoods.
Towers Main is being redeveloped into a mixed-use address, including 520 affordable residential apartments. ABSA, a key partner in this project, will be leasing back nine floors with 10 000 square meters of office space.
From the outside, the building will be visually transformed with its existing façade being completely removed and replaced with a brand new one.
“The building is very well suited to a residential conversion, with lots of natural lighting. We’re using a special lightweight brick to limit the load on the existing structure. It is designed to be long-lasting, with quality, durable materials used to construct cost-effective, resilient units,” comments Derrick Pautz, Atterbury Development Manager.
The residents and employees of the building will enjoy an entire floor of coffee shops, restaurants and recreation. On the ground floor, the amenity of convenience retail, childcare facilities, a public park, integrated public transport facilities and a wealth of public art will be easily accessible.
The twenty floors of dedicated residential accommodation and recreation will be launched in phases, with the first residents expected to move in as early as the end of this year. Most units will become available in the first quarter of 2020. Absa is also expected to reoccupy the towers early in 2020.
“Towers Main will bring new life back into the CBD, enable people live closer to where they work and help them to benefit from more disposable income as a result of saving time and a fortune in transport costs. Not only is it set to help address the city’s housing backlog, but by giving people all the amenities that they need and want to enjoy quality of life, it will be more than just a place to live.”
