The once iconic Carlton Centre has been placed up for tender by parastatal, Transnet.
The retail centre is part of Carlton Towers, which is located at the heart of Johannesburg CBD and which once thrived.
Carlton Centre was part of a mixed-use offering, including a hotel, restaurants, an ice rink, cinemas and shops. The larger Carlton Towers opened in the 1970s with The Carlton Centre itself being completed in 1973. But it has become a depressing sight as people have dis-invested from the inner city. Many businesses left for Sandton, Rivonia and other business hubs. Those families which had large amounts of disposable income to shop at the centre also moved out, leaving working class families to support it and the surrounding areas. Transnet is now seeking parties to overhaul the centre which has become a fading memory of itself over the past 30 or so years. The Carlton Towers has 68 000 m² of office space and the Carlton Shopping Centre includes 53 000 m² of retail space. The 43 500 m² Carlton Hotel has 663 rooms, but is currently mothballed. The Carlton Court, the annex building, has 63 rooms. Today, only the retail portion is actually functioning.
The parastatal’s property division is acting to give Carlton Centre a chance at a future. This is as Transnet gives directions to its departments, intending to optimise its portfolio returns and to strengthen its balance sheet. The property division has issued two requests for information to assess the availability of potential property developers, investors, funders and also financiers to redevelop the Carlton Centre jointly.
Transnet has also put out a tender for interested parties to redevelop the 1 Adderley street property, in Cape Town. This is a landmark building at the bottom of Adderley street overlooking Heerengracht street, within the Cape Town CBD.
The building is currently partially occupied, at 43%, by a handful of tenants, including Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Cape Town, Metrorail and Rovos Rail Tours. The external parking area and Old Marine drive are also being let and managed by a third party.