Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Dec/January 2020 | Page 16

MASTER
INNER
CITY
INVESTOR
DEVELOPMENT
The location of Johannesburg
Accessibility: The City of Johannesburg is an ideally-
positioned city in the center of Gauteng and the Country. Its
location makes it the best gateway to the growing regional
and continental markets. It is the biggest east-west and
north-south transit node in the country accessible by all the
major freeways, the Metro Rail and Gautrain Line, regional
road transport systems. All of which deliver commuters to
the heart of downtown Joburg. For the first time investors
and tourists can land at the OR Tambo International Airport
and go directly into the highly-active Inner City of Joburg,
making it the vital hub in the emerging tech corridor in in
the country and Region.
Specific Investment Opportunities
Inner City And Associated incentives
The Urban Development Zone tax incentive: Promulgated
to stimulate vibrant economic revitalization of Joburg’s Inner
City, Cape Town and other municipalities.
The tax incentive is the only strategic instrument at the City’s
disposal for economic revitalisation of the Inner City and other
CBDs, through attraction of inward investment and stimulation,
vibrant economic growth, creation of quality employment
opportunities and progression of small businesses.
The legal demarcation of Joburg’s Inner City as the Urban
Development Zone (UDZ) tax incentive entity was affected by
Parliament through the Income tax legislation amendment in
2003. The City of Joburg Council rolled it out as an economic
program in 2004 and has since prioritized the UDZ tax
incentive’s highly innovative investment marketing strategy.
Progress: Pockets of Excellence
The resultant positive outcomes are borne out by recent private
sector initiatives that have created the Inner City’s “Pockets of
Excellence”, Roof gardens, Green Buildings and special Districts
has immensely boosted the City’s image for investment
and tourism. Expansions and modernisation of Commercial,
Financial Districts, Mining Houses and the University Student
Accommodation Precincts have contributed to attractive
and safe urban spaces and created high value employment
opportunities. It’s contributed towards technology and skills
transfer, thus leading to significant improvement in the quality
of lives of the people of Johannesburg.
About R24 Billion property investment has been realized in
the Inner City since 2005. R15 Billion constitutes operational
property investment projects, of which about 50% constitutes
accommodation.
Attraction of Private Investment in Property with “place-
based-people-centred mixed-use-combinations of residential
high-end accommodation, students’ and affordable
accommodation, industrial, commercial & retail uses, ICT
& service-oriented businesses, hotels &tourism products.”
Increased premium office space in downtown Joburg as a
result investment by the banks, mining houses, Transnet, Prassa
Parkstation Gautrain station TOD commercialization represent
a unique opportunity for about R20 billion investment at
Joburg’s busiest, most important, multi-modal and cross-
border passenger transportation hub.
Spin-off investments
The refurbishment in the Inner City, and the recently activated
Soweto Empowerment Zone industrial park, which has
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DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine