Joburg’s most famous skyscraper up for sale

The iconic Ponte City building, located in the heart of Johannesburg’s central business district, is currently up for sale.

The skyscraper was built in 1975 by principal designer Mannie Feldman, working in a team alongside Manfred Hermer and Rodney Grosskopff.

Best known for its cylindrical shape and hollow “core”, the brutalist building has 54 stories and 270-degree panoramic views of the city.

At 173 meters, the Ponte City building was the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa for 48 years.

It also features a neon sign at the top, which used to advertise the Coca-Cola Company before 2000, but today advertises Vodacom.

However, during the 1980s and 1990s, the building became overrun by violent gangs who stripped the building and charged people to stay there, and it became a hub for drug trafficking and prostitution.

Trash and bodies piled up multiple stories high in the core, since – with no building maintenance available – people simply threw their waste into the centre.

Fortunately, the Kempston Group acquired Ponte in the mid-90s and they undertook a great deal of effort and tens of millions of dollars to restore the building.

During the late 2000s and 2010s, the building became a hotspot shooting destination for blockbuster movies.

One of the final shots of the 2009 film District 9 is of the tower. The skyscraper “Peach Trees” featured in the 2012 film Dredd is also heavily inspired by Ponte Tower.

Parts of the film Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and parts of the series The Last Days of the American Crime were also shot at Ponte City.

Anyone interested in seeing the building today can go on the “Ponte Experience” tour, presented by the inner-city foundation Dlala Nje — Zulu for “Let’s have fun!”, which includes guided tours of the building and its history.

Norman Raad, CEO of Broll Auctions and Sales which has been charged with selling the building, said on The Money Show that the building is in a very good condition today.

“It’s been turned around from where it was hijacked and that centre part was multiple stories high in dirt and rubble,” Raad explained.

“It took them years to clear out, but it’s absolutely turned around.”

“There’s CCTV, there’s security, there’s parking, the lifts are all working, there’s generators. It’s a fully functioning high-rise building in the middle of Berea, and it’s absolutely perfect.”

Today, the building offers 486 apartments for rent, with prices ranging from R2,800 for a studio to R5,300 for a three-bedroom apartment.

The Ponte also offers several penthouses that are 100 square meters in size.

“They’ve got the most magnificent views and they are quite extraordinary. You can see from Sandton all the way to the airport.”

“There’s nothing obstructing your views, it’s the highest building.”

According to Raad, about 75% of the apartments are currently occupied, which is a direct result of the stricter renting requirements that have been put in place.

“They’re very selective of the tenants that go in there now. You need to qualify, you need to have certain merits to rent from the landlord.”

“I think that’s good for the building, you’re not just going to put anyone in there and have multiple people renting in one unit.”

The Ponte does not only consist of residential space, though, Raad noted.

He explained that the building, which comprises 30,000 square meters in total Gross leasable area (GLA), also has about there’s about 25 square meters of retail space.

This includes restaurants, shops, a primary school and a bar. “You’re basically buying all the rentable income that’s generated from the building.”

Raad explained that the Ponte’s central location, and the high demand for accommodation in the area, make it the ideal apartment building.

In particular, it is 20 minutes away from the University of Johannesburg, and only about 12 minutes away from Wits University – making it an ideal location for students in the city.

“I think it’s going be broken up into micro units for student accommodation, possibly. That’s a good option because nowadays, everyone is going for these smaller dwellings, smaller units, and it’s well positioned for that kind of use.”

“You can definitely break up the units because they’re substantially larger than the properties or the apartments that have been built today.”

Offers for the building close on 10 April, and the price is available on application (POA).