Why Joburg’s R4,900 per month container home project failed
Update: This article has been updated with the exact buildings and units that are up for auction
Large parts of the Maboneng district in Johannesburg are up for auction later in April, after the property developers trying to rejuvenate the section of the inner-city entered into liquidation.
The hub was envisioned to be a renewal of a safe, cultural and trendy lifestyle within the Joburg city, and included residential and commercial projects like the Drive Lines apartments – built from used shipping containers.
However, many of these projects, including Drive Lines, will go under the hammer on 15 April, after developer, Propertuity, and its subsidiaries entered into liquidation.
According to an affidavit by liquidators of one of the subsidiaries, Urban Steyn, the group was losing as much as R1 million a month on their developments, the City Press reports.
Much of the blame lies on economic conditions in South Africa, the liquidators said.
Rentals were poor because of economic pressures on residents, while the cost of running security to ensure the small section of the city is safe, was high.
In the wake of the liquidation, concerns have been raised over security, with a big worry that vagrants might move to occupy the buildings which are currently standing empty, the paper reported.
There are also concerns that the auction of 10 buildings and 130 sectional title units will devalue the properties in the area, though the developers of adjacent areas have denied this will be the case.
Propertuity is “just a small part” of the wider precinct, they said.
Up for auction
In a notice published by Park Village Auctions, Drivelines Studios forms part of a number of Maboneng properties which have been put into liquidation.
Jaco du Toit of Park Village Auctions said property investors should add Maboneng, or “central Joburg’s new investment gem” to their portfolio. A host of mixed-use Maboneng properties will be offered by Park Village on April 15 at noon at The Venue, 17 High Street, Melrose Arch, Joburg.
“Investors seeking rapid growth of their portfolios are buying up property in this area at a rapid rate. With more than R2 billion being funnelled into the Maboneng precinct by investors ranging from property investment companies to financial institutions, this is an area to watch closely over the coming years,” said du Toit.
“The precinct draws the inner-city public as well as the chic, art-loving crowd of the city’s northern suburbs. PVA’s auction portfolio will allow potential investors to get a foot into the door of this new property hotspot to benefit in the huge growth potential offered.”
Properties up for auction include:
| Property | Up for auction |
|---|---|
| Craftmans Ship | Fourteen sectional title retail units and nine sectional title residential apartment units |
| Fox Street Studios | Three street front Sectional Title retail shops situated within SS Fox Street Sudios No 174/2013 |
| Rocket Factory | Four Sectional Title retails units, seven sectional title residential apartment units and eight exclusive use area parking bays. |
| 305 Fox Street | Double storey commercial building comprising a restaurant over two floors with commercial kitchen and cloakrooms. |
| Living Moad | Four residential apartment units; four office units, two commercial units; three unregistered units. |
| Betty Fox | Two notarially tied stands improved with double volume warehouse building converted into a restaurant with kitchen, cloakrooms and outbuildings. |
| Curiosity | Two adjoining stands, with a double storey commercial building, restaurants and backpackers accommodation. |
| Artisans Loft | Six residential apartment units measuring between 59 square metres and 86 square metres; One penthouse apartment measuring 179 square metres; One ground floor commercial unit measuring 272 square metres. |
| Remeds View | Two notarially tied stands improved with a four storey commercial building comprising 13 ground floor retail and offices units and 35 residential units each unit consisting 3 single rooms with a shared bathroom and kitchen area. |
| Revolution House | Three residential apartment units and one penthouse apartment with exclusive use parking areas. |
| Rivers of Steel | Fully walled and improved with a security office and steel framed under shadenet carport structures providing covered parking for 32 vehicles. |
| Main Street Life | Various street front Sectional Title retail shops. |
| Urban Fox | Three ground floor retail commercial units and one upper level residential apartment unit. |
| Arts on Main | Eight sectional title retail/commercial units with exclusive use areas and parking bays. |
| Aerial Empire | Three storey residential apartment building comprising fifty-one single rooms with communal kitchen areas and bathrooms. |
| Market Up | Commercial building. |
| Hallmark House | Eleven one bedroom apartments; Two two-bedroom apartment units; one penthouse apartment; forty-six hotel rooms with reception foyer, office, cloakrooms, admin office and storerooms, conference centre, two meeting rooms, eight offices, ground floor area bar and restaurant area, basement commercial area, gymnasium room, area for a health spa and roof-top commercial area including eighty-eight parking lots. |
| Drive Lines | Three storey residential apartment building comprising fifty-one single rooms with communal kitchen areas and bathrooms. |
Read: Joburg’s R4,900 per month container home development is up for auction
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