The City of Johannesburg, through the Joburg Property Company (JPC) avail another 97 properties for mixed-use development.

Available on the City’s website and that of the Joburg Property Company to review, the detailed prospectus with listed properties equate to a total investment value of between R20 billion and R25 billion and are planned for development across the City’s various regions.

Of the 97 sites, a large portion are grouped into large partitions of land being released across regions that include Randburg, Rosebank, Orange Grove, Houghton, and Wynberg with the aim is to establish mixed-use developments, affordable housing and student accommodation.

Although the revitalisation of the Inner City is crucial to economic growth in Johannesburg, the development of supplementary areas around Johannesburg is equally as important whereby the revitalisation of the inner city hopes to spill into surrounding areas.

Locations such as Roodepoort and Randburg, which have declined as a direct consequence of neglect and a flight of capital, must be brought back to life through massive investment in infrastructure and properties for business opportunities.

These developments will be of particular importance as they will include the recently approved inclusionary housing policy, which requires developers to dedicate a percentage of new residential developments for affordable housing. This is an important step as the City seeks to address the spatial inequality associated with apartheid-era development planning.

Amongst the 97 properties, listings include various filling stations in Soweto and Denver, with expected investment value of approximately R100 million presented with the hopes that entrepreneurs will identify the prime opportunity taking full advantage to own and manage these long term business prospects.

With the development of 70 properties located predominantly in Orange Grove, an estimated 1, 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase with 1, 000 residential units to be delivered here alone.

Rosebank, which is experiencing a development boom similar to Sandton, is earmarked for a R400 million investment which will create 2000 jobs and yield a 12 storey mixed-use development with 250 residential units and a 600m² library.

Through these and other developments, the promise of turning Johannesburg into a construction site, creating thousands of much-needed jobs continues to advance.