How much it costs to live in Johannesburg’s “hell on earth”

·7 Nov 2026

Ponte City is an iconic part of Johannesburg’s skyline for its unique architecture and infamous reputation, with apartments in the building priced between R3,100 and R6,500.

The skyscraper, which opened in 1976, had 54 storeys and was noted for its cylindrical shape and hollow centre.

The building was designed by Mannie Feldman, in partnership with Manfred Hermer and Rodney Grosskopff, and its cylindrical shape made it the first of its kind in Africa.

Ponte’s unique shape was chosen to comply with Johannesburg’s bylaws of the period, which required windows in kitchens and bathrooms.

The hollow centre lets natural light into the building, allowing windows to be installed on both sides of the skyscraper’s apartments, making it easier to comply with these bylaws.

At the bottom of this hollow centre is a bedrock foundation, while the lower storeys of the building host several retailers.

Along with its shape, Ponte is easily recognised in the Johannesburg skyline by the large advertising boards at its top.

Today, the advertising space is used by Vodacom, but was previously used by Coca-Cola until the 2000s.

In the 1980s, Ponte City earned a new reputation as a hub for illegal activity, following the building being hijacked by criminal gangs.

In 2025, a tour guide for the building, Delight Sithole, told the BBC that the building was horrible for residents, with no utilities and frequent crime.

“The building got hijacked. There were no utilities, so most of the people were actually throwing their trash right inside the building until it reached the 14th floor,” he said.

“There were some dead bodies here, illegal firearms, drugs. The smell, I’m sure it was just horrible, just really like, hell on earth.”

The building became a symbol of Johannesburg’s inner-city decay due to rampant crime as criminals took control of it.

In the mid 90’s, the Kempston Group acquired the property with plans to restore it into a residential building.

The group sold the building to Investagain in 2007 to refurbish the skyscraper, but this plan fell through due to the 2008 financial crisis, and Ponte was sold back to the Kempston Group.

Ponte’s revival

Following the 2008 revival attempt, the Kempston Group gradually worked to restore the building throughout the 2010s.

These efforts led to the building’s core being cleaned out and to criminal gangs slowly being driven out of the iconic skyscraper.

Today, the 54-storey building rents out apartments in several sizes and configurations to prospective tenants.

The cheapest available option is a “studio apartment” with a monthly rent starting at R3,170, excluding utility costs.

The most expensive apartment type in Ponte City is a “3-bedroom lux apartment”, starting from R6,500 per month.

The apartment options in Ponte City, and their starting monthly rent costs include:

Studio apartment: R3,170
2-bedroom apartment: R4,100
2-bedroom lux apartment: R5,100
3-bedroom apartment: R5,300
3-bedroom lux apartment: R6,500

The building today has undergone a complete overhaul, transforming it into reputable accommodation in Johannesburg’s CBD.

On its website, the skyscraper is described as “an icon of the city it towers over” and was noted as “one-of-a-kind” by Broll Auctions and Sales CEO Norman Raad.

Raad’s comments were made in 2025, when Ponte City went up for sale through a private tender.

“This legendary high-rise building, topped with South Africa’s most desirable outdoor advertising space, has ridden the highs and lows of the property market over the decades as Berea’s fortunes changed,” Raad said in 2025.

“It remains a one-of-a-kind and once-in-a-lifetime asset which is an integral part of Johannesburg’s skyline.”

“Ponte is the epitome of true urban grit, having weathered the highs and lows of the evolving urban and economic landscapes that shape our country,” Raad added.