Hammer to fall on another CBD landmark
JOHN Ross House, an iconic Durban building set in the heart of the city with sweeping views over the harbour, will be among the lots for Broll Auctions and Sales multi-property sale in Joburg next month.
The auction will start at noon at The Wanderers Club in Illovo.
Broll’s Tim Counsell, says the landmark building at 29 Margaret Mncadi Avenue (Victoria Embankment) is a “unique and substantial investment” comprising five commercial sections that include A-grade bay-view offices on two floors, and ground-floor retail outlets anchored by a Spar supermarket.
“The tower block has a renovated warehouse and extensive secure parking with a gross lettable area of over 14 000m²,” says Counsell.
John Ross House was completed in the early 1970s. The conspicuous 33-storey building is best-known for the Roma Revolving Restaurant – one of only 31 slow-spinning eateries in the world – which offers a 360º perspective of the cityscape.
There are also more than 500 sectional title apartments in the building, many with spectacular harbour views.
The building is named after “John Ross” (real name Charles Rawden Maclean) who in 1827 and aged just 15, walked, according to legend, alone for nearly 1 000km from Port Natal (Durban) to Delagoa Bay (now Maputo in Mozambique) and back to fetch medicine and supplies for “a handful of pioneers at the bay of Natal”. Sceptics say the story has been embellished over the years and that the young man had become friendly with King Shaka who provided warriors to accompany Ross. Nevertheless, there’s a commemorative plaque and a statue of a young “John Ross” outside the building as a salute to youthful bravery – and the tale certainly helped to add adventure and romance to John Ross House’s history.
The 109m high John Ross House has in recent years undergone extensive refurbishment including the installation of a hi-tech security system and upgrading of the lifts, air-conditioning and electrical infrastructure.
The building’s website says it is “one of the most sought-after residential and commercial AUGUST 19 2018 blocks on Durban’s Esplanade”, helped in no small measure by its key location a few blocks from the city centre, the International Convention Centre, as well as the busiest working harbour in the southern hemisphere. There’s also easy freeway access with King Shaka International Airport just 30 minutes away.
For more details about the Broll auction which will also feature another Durban CBD landmark – the Permanent Building at 343 Anton Lembede Street – as well as other KZN properties, call Tim Counsell on 071 247 2338 or see www.broll.com.