TUHF has backed the complete conversion of Remington House on Nugget Street in the Johannesburg CBD into an EDGE-certified mixed-use building - delivering affordable, well-located rental stock while demonstrating a replicable model for green inner-city redevelopment. The project is TUHF’s first pilot to earn EDGE certification under its new collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Originally an abandoned and later hijacked office block, Remington House has been transformed through a brownfields refurbishment that retained the frame, lift shafts, and much of the existing structure, reducing embodied carbon and construction waste.
The building now comprises five ground-floor retail units, 14 secure parking bays, and 133 self-contained bachelor-type residential units across the podium and tower levels, with shared amenities including a study centre and gym. A solar installation on the podium roof complements power needs, while a borehole and filtration system supplements the water supply.
“When Abiyot Kassa Ferede approached us, the building had been vacated, and he was seeking funding for the conversion of the building from office to residential use. We had worked with Abiyot on a similar high-rise conversion project before, so we knew he had the entrepreneurial capability we look for in our clients,” says Khumbulani Chikomo, Portfolio Manager at TUHF.
“Remington House proves what focused densification and reuse of existing assets can achieve in the inner city. Our role was to structure the finance and assemble an experienced professional team so the building could be delivered to a high standard and meet EDGE requirements.”
Key green interventions include centralised heat pumps that replace individual geysers, low-glazing to reduce heat gain and loss, LED lighting, low-flow showers and taps, dual-flush toilets, and a solar back-up system. On certification, the project achieved 27.81% energy savings, 22.40% water savings, and a 51.00% reduction in embodied carbon in materials, relative to baseline.
The building’s location and design support urban densification near jobs, universities, transport hubs, and amenities. While initially designed as a multi-family rental, market demand has led Remington House to operate as student accommodation without changing its residential use, alongside two adjacent TUHF-supported properties that together form a growing student precinct with close to 1,000 students.
Remington House also showcases TUHF’s green finance pathway with IFC. As part of the programme, successful EDGE certification entitles the borrower to a performance-based incentive of $1,080 per unit (approximately R18,500), paid directly toward settling the borrower’s loan, covering EDGE consulting costs, and accelerating amortisation.
This sits within a broader TUHF–IFC initiative to scale affordable, green housing, including advisory support and access to performance-based incentives under IFC’s Market Accelerator for Green Construction (MAGC).
“The ‘greening’ is not cosmetic,” Chikomo adds. “It stabilises running costs for entrepreneurs and shields tenants from service failures, which improves affordability and quality of life. Remington House shows that certified green outcomes are viable in affordable rental and bankable when structured correctly.”
Project facts
- Address and context: Nugget Street, Johannesburg CBD; brownfields conversion of a vacant, hijacked office building (7191.00m2 gross building area)
- Programme: 5 retail units; 14 parking bays; 133 bachelor-type units; study centre and gym.
- Resource systems: Centralised heat pumps; solar installation; borehole and filtration; LED lighting; low-flow fixtures; dual-flush toilets; optimised façade glazing.
- EDGE results: Energy 27.81%; Water 22.40%; Materials (embodied carbon) 51.00%.
- IFC green incentives: $1,080 per EDGE-certified unit paid toward loan settlement; advisory and PBI support via IFC/MAGC.
