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Chalumbira takes a risk

The veteran of Coca Cola’s international marketing initiative had seen enough inner-city regeneration projects around the world to recognise the untapped value in a historic block of Johannesburg homes.
 
After Chalumbira committed to restoring the structures – rich in period details such as pressed tin ceilings, wooden floors and embellished moldings - the Johannesburg Development Authority (JDA) agreed to prioritise his request for a closed circuit television system, repaved roads and facilitation of speedy municipal service delivery.

The JDA also introduced the aspiring entrepreneur to a critical source of funding: the Trust Urban Housing Fund, launched just as Chalumbira was finalising his development plans. The two entities have grown in tandem. The next phase of the Doornfontein neighbourhood development is planned to be the renovation and leasing of the retail shop units Lionshare has sat on for the past three years.

Having shifted the residential demographics from occupiers of hijacked squats to upwardly mobile 18- to 24-year-olds, the landlord can now attract suitable retail tenants. A coffee chain will be the first to open, which had high expectations for World Cup traffic.

Hosting the World Cup has imposed deadlines on the meandering, decade-long regeneration process that has been taking place in South Africa’s two biggest cities, following a decline in investment during the uncertain 1990s.

Overcoming the narrow approach to development practised during the country’s apartheid years has been incredibly difficult but the cycle of opportunity that the World Cup unleashed appears poised to benefit football stadium neighbours.