Johannesburg has an abundance of big, glitzy malls. Now, developers are turning their attention to revamping the small, old shopping centres that were de rigueur in the 1940s and 1950s. These relics are being made to shed their dowdy plumage and don a whole new bright and funky look.

The old Northpark Centre in Parktown North - in the process of being transformed into Parktown Quarter - is one. The pavement crowd who used to hang out at Espresso and Karma Petit have had to go elsewhere while the dilapidated centre has its identity overhauled. When they come back in March, when the revamp is complete, the developers hope they will find the new centre a more convenient and attractive addition to the traditionally conservative suburb. Think big glass façades and blocks of vivid colour, trendy shops and restaurants.

"Younger people are moving into areas like Parktown North, breathing new life into these suburbs, which are well-located for the Gautrain and for business in the city," says Nico van der Westhuizen, a director of developer Retail Africa. "This whole area will undergo a revamp."

Seventh Avenue is already a vital artery connecting the east of Johannesburg to the west; Parktown Quarter will no doubt become an important community service node.

The centre is being refurbished at a cost of R22m, and offers office and retail space. An extension is planned down 7th Avenue, with two erven already having been purchased for this project. Van der Westhuizen says this part of the centre will house neighbourhood services such as doctors' and dentists' rooms, a florist, a pharmacy, a coffee shop and so forth. The Nando's and Yo Sushi in the existing block will remain, though with a new look. A bakery is moving in after renovation, and a Woolworths food store will open end-February.

On the second and third floors, office space has been rented to companies that Van der Westhuizen says fit the profile of the trendy, upmarket centre. Tenants include JVR Architects and Amorphous, an advertising agency. Van der Westhuizen says there has been a rush for the space but lawyers and accountants need not apply: tenants must be hip and cool and fit in with the funky look. He adds that rentals are market-related, at R95/m² for office space and R165/m² for ground floor retail space.

Northpark Centre had been allowed to become run down. Dodgy tenants such as a massage parlour and an illegal diamond cutter rubbed shoulders with bona fide businesses in the office space, according to Van der Westhuizen. They were given notice when renovations began.

He says Retail Africa has approached the council to lease the bus station and park-and-ride across the road, landscape it and create a safe park and car parking. At present this unsightly area is frequented by vagrants and is unsafe.

Change is seldom welcome and Retail Africa has had some opposition from tenants who were not invited to stay on, as well as the influential Parktown North Residents' Association (PNRA). Member Judy Stockill, a former DA councillor, says the association is not opposed to the centre as such, as the developers have adhered to specifications regarding the number of storeys.

But she says "the devil is in the detail", accusing Retail Africa of presenting an artists' impression featuring "cute little shops" and then accommodating mainstream tenants such as Woolworths. The PNRA does not want what is essentially a residential area to become the nucleus of a business hub, says Stockill. She adds that the plans indicated a cobbled parking area, but Retail Africa has laid an impervious parking lot that will not facilitate stormwater drainage or seepage.

Van der Westhuizen counters that his company held several meetings with the PNRA and all had ended amicably. He says the 250 m² Woolworths food store will be one of the smallest. He feels that with the added lighting and security, crime levels will drop.

Stockill agrees with some of the former tenants that they were not treated fairly. Stanley Peskin, who for nine years owned and ran The Video Shop - specialising in BBC and alternative films - complained that he was given only two months' notice and that his move to Gleneagles Road, Greenside, has had a negative effect on his income. He says he was told about the renovation but did not expect to be evicted. "I was made to feel undesirable," he says.

Van der Westhuizen points out that The Video Shop's lease had expired and rental was from month to month. He admits that The Video Shop did not fit the "profile" for Parktown Quarter.

The dust is settling and no doubt most stakeholders will soon be resigned to - if not happy with - the attractive and convenient centre.

Briggs Miller, owner of Harvey World Travel, which has moved from the ground to the first floor, says she is content with the new arrangement. "The centre was in sore need of a revamp," she says. "You can't hold back progress."

Miller says she now has three times more room at a small increase in rent. "I am looking forward to the completion date and the opening of the new upmarket stores."