Risky business A new lease of life for a neglected suburb
New Joburg cultural hub rises from ruins of former nappy factory
● Sometimes when you work on something that seems difficult to pull off, given how monumental in scale it is, you don’t realise how it is setting you up for something far more rewarding. It’s even more surprising when that thing you are being set up for takes place in one of the most unusual places possible.
For television cameraman and war journalist Brian Green, Victoria Yards in Lorentzville, Johannesburg, is that thing.
Green, who developed 44 Stanley Avenue near Milpark between 2003 and 2010 with his business partner, Sedgeley Developments’ Mark Batchelor, was approached in 2016 by property investor and one of Redefine Properties’ former CEOs, Brian Azizollahoff, who owned a commercial building next to him on Stanley Avenue.
The one Brian was impressed with the other’s ability to manage brownfields projects, and by the end of 2016, Green was redeveloping a 30 000m2 site in the largely forgotten suburb of Lorentzville into a space housing impressive art studios, a gin distillery, a fish and chips shop and highly skilled artisans.
“I made documentaries and did camera work in numerous devastated areas and I couldn’t handle watching beautiful and incredible structures that have been standing for hundreds of years sometimes destroyed in a day,” says Green.
Azizollahoff helped pool some private investors, and a plan to create a high-quality office and entertainment offering in Lorentzville on the eastern edge of Johannesburg’s CBD, was born.
In November 2016, Green and his team began redeveloping the site, which for decades had been a nappy factory, into an area that could serve the residents of Lorentzville and help start up businesses.
One major reason he took a risk on Lorentzville was that fast-food group Nando’s had moved its head office there.
“The Yards lies across the road from Nando’s global head office. I think if they hadn’t gone to Lorentzville in 2016 we wouldn’t have developed The Yards at all,” says Green.
“They gave us confidence. We have been able to do various projects together and believe the area will grow from where we are outwards, with more developers bringing places that people living and working in this suburb can be proud of.”
The Yards has so far been completely funded by private money, and its first phase is set to be completed by September 1, when Green will stage a Spring Day launch. He says he will look for bank funding after this.
The development has around 30 tenants, a number of whom have moved from areas that had begun to feel tired for them. This includes art galleries and a smelt-glass company that left Norwood.
Tenants are charged around R76/m² but Green says he has also selected some people to be tenants who are able to enhance the development but need time to start generating strong profits. There are about four tenants who are getting discounted deals but they contribute with levies and assist other tenants with services.
Tenants include Sarah Cronin Designs, a metal work company, as well as hydroponic gardening group Floponyx and Drybone Company, which repurposes old denim and leather clothes into new fashions.
The Yards is also growing its artist studio spaces and the likes of American artist Roger Ballen, who has lived in South Africa for over 30 years, and Ayanda Mabulu, famous for his art depicting former president Jacob Zuma, are residents in The Yards.
Green says the space will be used for First Thursday events in coming months. He wants to attract people from across Johannesburg.
“We need to reactivate so many spots in our city, then we can function as we should. I am confident I can get people hiding away over the hill to come and visit. Some tenants will launch in July and there will be World Cup Soccer viewings at The Yards,” he says.
Green encourages more people to redevelop brownfields buildings across Johannesburg to create better lifestyles, jobs and real community.
Property economist Erwin Rode says the development may work even if it is essentially built on spec. It’s tough for Green to sign up tenants before he renovates existing parts of the building and then shows these to prospective tenants.
“I can say that all pioneering developments are risky and I salute their guts and may they succeed. We need more creative and interesting developments like this,” says Rode.
As Lorentzville improves, surrounding areas should follow, says Green. Areas around Ellis Park could eventually see investment but safety concerns are high. Some listed property companies have said they won’t invest in Ellis Park due to crime and poor service delivery in the area.
Marc Wainer, executive chairman at Redefine Properties, said at the recent launch of Loftus Park, a multi-use development next to the Loftus Versfeld rugby stadium, that it would be difficult to replicate such a highquality development next to Ellis Park stadium given the poor commercial property investment case there.
I did camera work in numerous devastated areas and I couldn’t handle watching beautiful and incredible structures that have been standing for hundreds of years sometimes destroyed in a day Brian Green
TV cameraman-turned property developer