To fix or to raze is the question

CIVIC CENTRE: DA WILL BLOCK BIG PLANS WITH BIG COSTS

- Jarryd Westerdale

Rangling over the future of Johannesburg's municipal head office is continuing along its pricey path. The 50-year-old civic centre has been vacant since 2023 and city leaders and the opposition are at odds over its future.

A Section 79 committee on development planning met on Tuesday to discuss the refurbishment efforts and associated timelines.

Figures ranging from R800 million to R3.2 billion have been quoted to restore the building, but word from inside the committee suggests the building could be demolished.

A new proposal would have the building rebuilt as a state-of-the-art facility by a private investor at the cost of R2.2 billion.

The motivation for a rebuild is based on a report suggesting the building was structurally unsound.

But one committee member, DA councillor Daniel Schay, said the building was "not terminally ill" and could still be salvaged.

The new civic centre is set to have a hotel and shopping centre as part of the larger complex, but Schay questions whether this is a financially prudent decision.