Maboneng
Project
INNER CITY
Maboneng shines a light on what is
really possible in the centre of
Jo'burg.
by Paul S Rowlston
Nothing but love in the heart of the city...
Jonathan Liebmann purchased his ?rst
property at the age of 24 and is now in the
process of re-developing a sizable slice of
downtown Johannesburg - ?ipping
conventional wisdom about the future of
our urban spaces on its head and creating
something unexpectedly human in the
process.
When I was Amy McMillan's age, her mother and I used to
travel into the centre of Johannesburg by train to visit the
record shops and get out of the 'burbs. It was on one such
trip that I found Whitesnake's live album “Live in the heart of
the city” in a bargain bin. Little did I know back then when I
handed over that ?ve rand note (Ed. You're really showing
your age now!), but that ?ne album would also one day
provide an obscure reference for an inspiring story.
Flash forward (mumble, mumble, mumble) years to when
Amy McMillan visited Maboneng for the ?rst time. This was
not an escape from the 'subdivisions', this was a challenge,
an adventure and more than just a little scary.
So, there we sat outside PataPata – the restaurant with the
wonderful and warm brazier on the side-walk; waiting to go
and see a show at POPArt - the delightful black box theatre,
run by three divine ladies; and this seventeen year old girl
was actually ove 'v?V??VB'?F?RfW'??FV?b&V??r?W&Rv???F?R?V'B?bF?R6?G?r??6?R?B?WfW"???B??6R???W"v???R?fR?f?6?FVBF?R6V?G&P??b?????W6'W&r???6?R??Wr?bF?R6?G?v2fwVP??7GW&R?b7&??R?W&&?FV6??B6?6??v7FV??B??B?W@??4?%?$DR4?4??$Ud?Up??????