SASHNI PATHER

19 September 2004

THE Oriental Plaza is about to get a R100-million facelift that its developers hope will turn down-at-heel Fordsburg into the most vibrant area in Johannesburg.

The plaza was launched in 1974 when Indian traders in Pageview were forcibly removed under apartheid law, but over the decades it has grown into a unique centre with a reputation for bargains.

Now developers are set to give the plaza a whole new look.

The development will include a major food court, multi-purpose hall, gym, banking hall, supermarket chain, franchise stores, multi-level parking, cinema complex and hotel. Architect Aziz Tayob said the project would begin early next year and is expected to be completed in March 2006.

"Fordsburg has to be in line with the rest of the development of the inner city, the Market Theatre precinct, Mary Fitzgerald Square and the Nelson Mandela Bridge. It is just a matter of tapping into a hub that already exists and harnessing the potential," he said.

A world-class hotel is included in the master plan, along with residential accommodation and a high-rise office block.

Tayob said the aim was to bring back the vibrancy of the past.

"Once the roller doors at the Oriental Plaza come down at five, everything comes to a standstill. This development will enable the nightlife to go on and thrive, in keeping with all the centres in the city."

Fordsburg is a hive of activity on Friday and Saturday nights, with families thronging to the more than 100 eateries in the area.

"Entire families come out to take in the atmosphere. Women don’t even cook when the weekend comes around and the whole family goes out to take in the sights, sounds and excellent food. We want to take advantage of this and turn it into not just a shopping centre but a family centre."

Yousuf Bhamjee, owner of three thriving shoe stores at the plaza, said some of the older traders were nervous about the changes.

He said some of the older traders still suffered from the psychological impact of being displaced.

"They feel they will be endangered by development. They’re a very suspicious community that’s been trodden on."

But he added: "This development will definitely be an eye-opener for the community. It will offer a lively centre with an informal setting that people will flock to."

Tayob said the site on which the plaza was built had the potential to be developed into five times the size of the Carlton Centre.

"The plaza body corporate are the largest land owners in the region, and the development will span 28 000 square metres."

The R100-million will be raised through business participation and debenture fundraising. Members of the body corporate will be given first preference, and then it will be offered on the open market.

Ahmed Bobat, chairman of the body corporate, said the plaza’s store owners had endured a long and hard struggle to buy their stores.

"The unit holders are the owners of the centre. This is a system that is unheard of in shopping complexes. Their overheads are low and they are able to give their customers the best deals," he said.

The plaza attracts a million customers a month and has counted among its visitors heads of state and African royalty. Even Graca Machel stopped by to shop for her daughter’s wedding.

"This is the perfect way to commemorate our 30th anniversary. The development will revitalise the area and turn it into a tourist attraction," said Bobat.

"The demographics of the area have changed and the profile of Fordsburg is different. We are sitting on a gold mine and we wanted a way forward."

He added that because the project was self-financed, the owners would ensure its success.

Among those who have built their businesses at the plaza is Ahmed Patel, 83, who owns two fabric stores and was among the original traders forcibly moved during apartheid.

Initially, he sold women’s stocking and fake flowers on the streets, but, like the other traders at the plaza, he perservered and turned his hardship into success.

"I arrived in South Africa from India at the age of 12, and after my father's death I became the head of my family. My family settled in Vrededorp, but then we were thrown out and had to start all over," he said.

"With the money I saved, I set up my fabric business at the plaza in 1976. It's been a hard road, but we've survived. I nurtured this business and grew it from strength to strength."

Bhamjee said own success lay in following his father’s wise words.

"He told me that if I wanted to be a success, I didn’t need to go to university. If you’re fresh out of business school, you follow a specific path, but we were educated by our parents, who were traders themselves. And that is the philosophy that the plaza has been built on.

"We were brought into the shop at a young age and worked until we dropped. If my father saw me standing around idle, he would knock over an entire display I had just done so that I would have something to do. That modelled a generation."