The Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) has launched its first student accommodation project at 16 Wolmarans Street in Braamfontein.
The Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Housing in the City of Joburg, Councillor Mlungisi Mabaso officially unveiled the development, and he was accompanied by the Chairperson of the JOSCHO board, Theodore Dlamini, Ward Councillor Nokuthula Xaba and other JOSHCO senior executives and board members.
Situated on the corner of Simmonds and Wolmarans, Johannesburg inner city, the student accommodation is close to amenities, the University of Witwatersrand and other higher education institutions within the precinct and public transport nodes.
It features eighty-nine units comprising of studio units with shared facilities, bachelor units, one-bedroomed and two-bedroomed units, and free Wi-Fi. Rentals range between R3 500 to R4 100 per month.
The project is aimed at housing students from institutions of higher learning in Johannesburg including Wits University, the University of Johannesburg, and Rosebank College, to name a few.
“The Government of Local Unity cares and responds to the demand for student accommodation. We have more than twenty institutions of higher learning and the target is to provide 5 000 beds over the next three years” says MMC Mabaso.
“When we took office December 2019, one of the mandates I gave to the board and the executive of JOSHCO, was to acquire a building and convert it into student accommodation and indeed they headed to the call. I then charged all officials with the responsibility to expand the mandate of the entity to include the provision for students’ accommodation indeed they responded positive”.
One of the student ambassadors, Andile Kwezi, a nineteen-year-old University of Johannesburg student, said: “We are happy with this building and it has been a pleasure to be involved from the beginning. The building is safe, secure, and close to our university and major transport nodes. The name of our building is called Dakalo Court (which means happiness)”.
JOSHCO’s aims to develop a student precinct that offers a safer sound security and technologically enabled environment based on the smart city approach. Biometric access controls will secure the safety of student community.
The second targeted building for student accommodation will also be in the inner city. JOSHCO has secured relations with the University in Johannesburg and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.
