Demolition work underway to remove undesirable buildings
Following years of waiting, the demolition of the double-storey derelict building at 39 Market Street, Boksburg CBD has finally begun.
Demolition crews from Rembu Construction began the 17-day massive demolition process on the eyesore on Wednesday morning, June 1 to make way for new development.
Accompanied by municipal officials, the mayor of Ekurhuleni Mondli Gungubele was on site as a backhoe digger and began pulling apart the structure that once housed a pharmaceutical company, post office, bars and restaurants, and at one stage, destitute people.
Speaking to journalists at the demolition site, Gungubele said the demolition of such buildings is part of a huge campaign aimed at creating conditions that enhance the implementation of the city’s development plans.
Watch videos: Demolition of Market Street building underway
“The biggest challenge we have now is to make this city a friendly environment for investment.
“Boksburg, Benoni, Kempton Park and Edenvale constitute the centre of our city – so what we are doing is that we are dealing with all the buildings that are abandoned, occupied illegally, and those that are derelict and left unattended.”
Gungubele said they want to make sure that every piece of land owned by the metro is used for productive purposes.
“We don’t have a lot of space in Ekurhuleni. For that reason, we want every piece of land we have to be used for human enhancement in a more productive way.
“There are about 30 targeted derelict properties, but so far we have been given permission to deal with 11 of them,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear as to what the metro plans to do with the space once all the buildings are taken down.
The mayor mentioned there is a set of plans for these buildings, which will benefit the municipality and the private sector, as well as enhancing service delivery.
* VAGRANTS
EMPD officers stormed the building at about 4am on Wednesday to remove the handful of vagrants from the building.
The evicted people have, however, cried foul at the municipal’s action, saying it’s a violation of their constitutional rights, as they were given a very short notice to vacate the property and look for alternative accommodation.
The local authorities said officials had informed the illegal occupiers of the property several times before the demolition, adding that the forced evictions only took place because the people were not complying.
The mayor said the city weighed all the factors involved, before taking the decision to demolish the building.
“You know as government they say if you don’t act you are wrong and when you act you are also wrong, but at the end of the day you have to do something.
“In our view the cost benefit analysis of this place even in the medium and long term is going to benefit the people of Ekurhuleni, including those who were removed from the building.
“The people there, who are capable of looking after themselves, know that they were illegal occupiers of this property, they do understand that this is not a place to be.
“They were not supposed to be here in the first place, but those who are disabled or old people, attempts should be made by the municipality to see how they can be assisted.”
* ‘IT IS A RELIEF’ – RESIDENTS
The demolition comes years after residents of Boksburg have asked the city to take the structure down or lease it to the private sector.
Other community members were even prepared to take over the site if the council gave them permission to renovate it and use it for business purposes.
The residents, including local businesspeople and the police, who have been asking for the building to be pulled down, said that they are excited about the decision to bring it down and what could develop in its place.
Residents had reported seeing occupiers of the building taking part in illegal activities, including drug dealing, theft, rape and robbery.
Johann Keet, who has been in Boksburg for more than 40 years and runs a fishing tackle shop a few metres away from the building, said it is a relief to see the demolition start.
“We have been waiting for a long time to see this part of Boksburg return to its former beauty.
Keet said the property is not just a building, but holds many memories for certain residents as it was at one time a beautiful commercial property.
He hopes new developments can take the place on the empty lots that will be left behind after demolition.
* HISTORY
The building itself dates back to the 1880s, and is more than 127 years old.
According to the municipality, the building was initially used as a post office, before it was later sold to Noby Henry, who used it as a bar.
In 1929, it was converted into a restaurant, before the Boksburg Town Council considered it an unsightly factory building in 1979.
In 1983 Mazzo’s family renamed the building as Gino’s Restaurant, but the Gino’s vacated it in the year 2000 because of the excessive rates and taxes, including the fact that the area became degraded and was unsafe.
It later became a centre for homeless people, who were later evicted after the metro declared the property uninhabitable.
Since then, the facility has been reportedly targeted by vandals, vagrants, drug dealers, robbers and scrap metal thieves.
