City’s 528-unit social housing project way ahead of schedule

13 March 2017

 

More than 500 families in the low-income bracket will finally have a place to call home when a multimillion-rand social housing development in Turffontein, southeast of Johannesburg, is completed within the next 14 months.

 

The development, undertaken by JOSHCO, the City of Johannesburg’s social housing entity, is 20% complete and ahead of schedule, it was revealed during a tour of the development, near the iconic Turffontein Racecourse, on Friday March 10.

Among the dignitaries touring the development was new JOSHCO Chief Executive Officer Anthony Ngcezula.

The construction of the 528 housing units started in July 2016 and is expected to be completed by May 2018, with the handover of the properties to their owners pencilled in for June or July 2018. The housing stock consists of one-bedroom and two-bedroom communal rental units, which will be available for rental for people in the R3 500-R7 500 a month income bracket.

The R190-million development is divided into several blocks. Each block will have an inner courtyard with a play area for children. There will also be ample space for parking in the precinct.

Ngcezula, who was appointed to head up JOSHCO on March 1 2017, said he was pleased with the progress.
“I’m happy to hear from the team that the contractor is ahead of schedule. This means accelerated service delivery. People will be getting units much quicker than anticipated.

“I’ve been in this industry for some time and I know when I see a good project. This is one of them. I’m really impressed by what I’ve seen here,” he said.

JOSHCO Project Manager Nico Kilian said the entity’s main aim was to facilitate the provision of secure and stable rental housing for low-income groups. “There’s a huge shortage of housing in Turffontein. This project is going to go a long way to ensuring that this is met. Once completed, this is going to be one of our flagship projects.”

The construction site was a hive of activity as City and JOSHCO officials and other stakeholders toured the development. The project has created 176 jobs for locals. Fourteen sub-contractors, also drawn from local communities, are responsible for work such as bulk plumbing, site clearing, plastering and roofing.

JOSHCO was established in March 2004 to help eradicate the housing backlog among the city’s low-income earners. The social entity has a housing stock of more than 6 800 units in its portfolio.