The Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) officially launched Phase 2 of its City Deep Social Housing project, handed over keys to its Fleurhof units to new residents and celebrated its tenth anniversary in Johannesburg last month.

The City Deep project entailed the conversion of the former men-only City Deep hostel into 380 family units and aims to integrate mixed- income groups to achieve social, economic and spatial integration.

The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year, when 708 units will have been developed, with roads, pedestrian walkways, gardens and other amenities.

The development comprises the construction of 228 units on new four-storey walk-up blocks, the conversion of existing hostel blocks into family units and the construction of new infill walk-up storey blocks to accommodate mixed-income households with a gross income of between R2 500 and R7 500 a month per household.

A further objective of this development is to provide affordable residential housing in an industrial node, which comprises warehouses and factories, with limited residences that mainly consist of single-sex hostels.

Speaking at the Phase 2 launch of the project, City of Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau stated that Joshco had transformed the monuments of South Africa’s historic inequalities into thriving spaces for communities in which to live.

He stated that many people lived in dwellings that were essentially compounds for labour reserves and that people moved to the urban areas without their families to work, which Joshco and the City of Johannesburg aimed to reverse.

The City Deep project represented the vision of South Africa and the Department of Human Settlements to break new ground, Tau said, and added that it was the city’s aim to ensure that equitable access to urban amenities was created so that citizens were closer to opportunities.

He revealed that, over the next three years, the City of Johannesburg would invest R3.3-billion in public infrastructure.

“Joshco is committed to the city’s Corridors of Freedom. These shape the future of our city and will consist of well-planned transport arteries, where the focus will be on mixed-use development. Our citizens will not have to use cars, but can opt for cycling, [travelling by] bus lanes [or making use of] pedestrian walkways. This initiative will redress some of the historical spatial inequalities by making the city accessible through world-class transport infrastructure,” he said.

An example of this is Joshco’s Fleurhof Estate, which is located 9.8 km from Johannesburg’s central business district.

The integrated development offers residents several amenities nearby, such as schools and parks, as well as light industrial, commercial and retail businesses.

This centralised type of housing development is situated close to residents’ places of work and entertainment and is a “transit-orientated development because it is located near mass public transportation corridors”.

The development also comprises special units for the physically disabled.

City of Johannesburg housing member of the mayoral committee Dan Bovu handed over the keys of the Fleurhof development to three new tenants last month.

He added that the celebration of Joshco’s ten-year anniversary was also helping to change the living conditions of many South Africans.

Joshco CEO Rory Gallocher stated that the housing company aimed to move beyond shelter and focused on quality of life.

“Joshco’s primary objective is to transform the lives of our tenants by providing quality, affordable, safe and clean accommodation that is sustainable, inclusive and energy efficient. It further contributes through its repossession and refurbishment of ‘bad buildings’ in the city.

“Building energy efficient communities will be actualised in retrofitting Joshco developments with energy efficient technology such as solar geysers, smart meters and water tanks,” he stated.