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Peny Sukhraj and Palesa Kobedi

It is official - Joburg has changed its image from being one of the world's crime capitals to that of a truly African city on its way to a 24-hour lifestyle.

This is the perception emerging from a survey of inner-city businesses conducted by Professor John Luiz of the Wits Business School.

Not only is there greater confidence, but vacancies in city-centre buildings are now in line with those of Joburg's affluent northern suburbs.

Luiz said the 1990s were characterised by huge outflows of business from the downtown area, crime, and an influx of informal trading.

"But in the last couple of years the city has stabilised to the point that it is even attracting a new type of tenant, and possibly smaller companies, into the inner-city market," said Luiz.

Neil Fraser, who represents the inner-city business sector and the Central Joburg Partnership, said the statistics proved that there was no longer any doubt that the city centre was going through a resurgence.

"The city was at an all-time low, losing billions of rands in the 1990s, with vacancy rates hitting well over 25%.

"At that time I would get about half a dozen calls a month from people wanting to know how to get rid of buildings which they owned in the city. Most wanted to almost give them away.

"In the last three years I get on average 10 calls a week from people wanting advice on how to invest in the city," he said.

Fraser agreed that crime and grime were on the decline.

"Certainly safety is still a factor, but it is no longer the issue it was in the 1990s when street crime was high and people feared going into the city," he said.

"People do feel safer as there is more police presence, particularly by the metro police. The two issues still to be addressed are those of informal trading and taxis."

One of the signs that people are moving back is the huge demand for parking. There are at least 10 000 parking bays under construction in the city for the average 800 000 people who travel into the inner city area each day.

"People misunderstand Joburg's inner city from the point of its size - it has more growth space than Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria put together," said Fraser.

"The inner city is also still the biggest employment generator in the whole of Joburg. By 2010, when the Soccer World Cup comes around, it is going to be a very different city."

How businesspeople feel about the inner city

Here are some of the results of a survey conducted in April by the Joburg Development Agency among businesses in the inner city.

Business confidence

1. Improvement in management: 54% of respondents saw an improvement, compared with 46% in 2002.

2. Improvement in cleanliness: In 2002 more than 50% of respondents did not see an improvement in cleanliness. This dropped to 31% in 2004.

4. Decline in crime: 39% agreed, 25% were neutral and 36% disagreed. In 2003 47% saw no decline.

5. Resolved to remain in the city: 50% of respondents have decided to remain, while 32% were neutral and 16% disagreed. In 2003, 31% disagreed.

7. Increase in business turnover: 31% disagreed, compared with 45% in 2003.

8. Increased employment: 29% agreed while 37% disagreed.

9. Expecting an increase in business turnover: 64% agreed, compared with 35% last year.

City life

1. 29% saw the city as "dirty and unsafe", compared with 35% last year and 80% in 2002; while 53% described it as "not yet satisfactory but improving".

2. 45% felt there was not enough entertainment; 30% said it was still unsatisfactory but improving. Respondents also wanted to see more street cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, high-quality clothing and shoe stores, department stores, cinemas and banks.

Property

Vacancies in the city centre have been increasing since the mid 1990s. Vacancies in A- grade properties peaked late in 1999 at 25.8% and have been declining since reaching around 15% by the end of 2003 and early 2004.

The vacancy rates for Braamfontein A-grade property has been stable for the past few years at about 10%, though it dropped to 7.7% in September 2003.

The vacancy rates for the city centre and Braamfontein are in line with (and in some instances lower than) A-grade vacancy rates in the northern suburbs. Sandton stands at 14.8%, Rosebank at 15.6% and Parktown at 20.5%.

During 2002, rentals for A-grade properties increased from R25.25/m² to R27/m² and increased further to R28.25/m² during 2003. In Braamfontein, these rentals dropped slightly during 2002 from R45/m² to R44/m², but returned to R45/m² during 2003.

Developments

1. Most positive: The Nelson Mandela Bridge, which looks inviting and eases traffic flow; the Newtown area; the Metro Mall; the installation of CCTV cameras; city improvement projects; the Noord Street shopping centre; the planting of trees; pavement upgrades; and the Mary Fitzgerald Square.

2. Most negative: Clashes between police and hawkers, organised crime, dilapidated buildings and residential flats, and crime.

Signs of life: More people are finding entertainment in the inner city and less buildings are standing vacant

Bums on seats: Attendance is improving at cultural venues such as Market Theatre and the Joburg Civic Theatre (pictured bottom)

Visitor numbers at major inner-city venues

Johannesburg Art Gallery

1997 - 46 131

2000 - 33 213

2003 - 54 914

MuseuMAfrica

1997 - 57 444

1999 - 33 592

2003 - 47 882

Civic Theatre

1996/7 - 218 323

1999/00 - 147 104

2002/03 - 346 718

Market Theatre

1997 - 66 954

1999 - 96 295

2001 - 58 327

2002 - 70 041

2003 - 43 930

Note: In 2001 attendance was low due to renovations in and around the main theatre. In 2003 the flea market was discontinued.

Ellis Park

1997 - 632 253

1999 - 314 973

2003 - 515 458