18-10-2012: Nederburg building to be converted into rental flats
The Nederburg old age home opposite the Anglican Church is set to be converted into a block of rental flats once adequate consultation has been completed
and all the tenants have been suitably relocated.
The Nederburg old age home is an 11 storey building situated on the corner of Wolmarans and Nugget Streets in Joubert Park and is owned by the City of
Johannesburg. Although the structure was built in 1968 it has been operating as an old age facility since 1986 and consists of 53 apartments.
A recent site survey by the Housing Department and Emergency Services found that major plumbing work needs to be carried out, the electrical installation is
old and requires rewiring, the lifts are over 40 years old, excessive noise levels and some areas of the building are non compliant with the City’s fire
regulations.
“This building definitely does not comply with the Older Persons Act (OPA) of 2006 with respect to services or the building itself”, says councilor Dan Bovu
member of the mayoral committee for Housing.
He said that whether it remained an old age facility or converted into flats it was necessary to undertake refurbishment. “A cost comparison by the
Department’s Quantity Surveying Unit shows that it would be cheaper to convert to rental flats and at the same time meeting a pressing need for
accommodation in the inner city”, says councilor Bovu.
It will cost R2 million more if the building remained as an old age facility in order to meet all requirements as stipulated in the OPA 2006. Discussions
with all relevant stakeholders will take place soon and it is envisaged that the first of the 52 tenants will be moved from November 2012 to one of four
facilities within a 15 kilometre radius of the Nederburg.
Councillor Bovu says, “We must first ensure proper consultation with the elderly people and then integration into proper old age homes and support them as
best as we can as they adjust to their new homes”.
Once the relocation is complete the building will be handed over to the Johannesburg Social Housing Company that will go out on tender for procurement of
refurbishment work by July 2013.
Ends
Issued by:
Virgil James
Communication Specialist
City of Joburg
082 467 9415
