Gerald Olitzki (54) sips his coffee at a table on central Johannesburg's Loveday Street with the smile of a man who has made it. Trendy new restaurant Capellos is a tenant in his CCMA Centre, one of a couple of dozen buildings he owns within walking distance of each other. His is no overnight rags-to-riches story, but the archetypal model of a builder of property wealth.

He made his first CBD purchase 18 years ago . His father said he was mad to buy in a place that was going to the dogs. But his gut feel was that the city would once more be great. He tramped the streets, getting to know every nook and cranny. "I took it slowly, buying with care and only when my last building was substantially let," he says. The buildings filled. The rents rose. Compounding income growth and rising values were used to buy more buildings. CCMA Centre was Olitzki's best buy. Six years ago, the 36 000 m² of rentable space cost R1,5m or R41/m² - slightly more than the R35/m² rent he now gets each month. Today, it and the other properties he owns are probably worth well over R3 000/m². But it is not the money: Olitzki loves his buildings, another key element in building value. He is using his vastly improving cash flow to lease streets and squares next to his buildings and upgrade them.