70 Juta Street in Braamfontein

I told you yesterday about our trip to Braamfontein and the Neigbourgoodsmarket. We also visited the trendy and colourful little complex of stores and offices at 70 Juta Street just across the street from the market. 




The history of this one year old complex is one of those inspiring stories of a visionary young entrepreneur who bought a derelict office building in one of the drabbest areas in the inner-city. From that starting point, Adam Levy not only meticulously refurbished this building (and now lives in the top-floor penthouse with a spectacular view of the Nelson Mandela Bridge), but also reopened the Alexander theatre, renovated the Milner Park hotel and transformed part of Juta Street into a creative hub. 







Number 70 Juta Street used to be an army surplus store. It now contains 15 petite creative spaces in the single-storey building, with a tranquil courtyard in the middle creating an open plan design with easy access into all the stores. There are music and fashion outlets, a couple of studios and art galleries and a coffee shop. And next door, Co-op Gallery is also worth a visit. 



The building's former gun safe has been converted into unisex toilets. 


One last thing, that top-floor penthouse was one of the House & Leisure’s 2011 House of the Year finalists. You can drool over it here. I can see myself moving in faster than what it will take my husband to pour us sundowners on that deck!!

70 Juta Street
Braamfontein
Johannesburg
Tue – Fri: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sat: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Website: http://70juta.tumblr.com/

Other worthwhile web pages to visit:

The website of Adam Levy’s property development company Play Braamfontein
 An interesting article about Adam Levy in the NY Times
 70 Juta Street Facebook page 

Image credits: All photography by Elanie Fourie

No comments:

Post a Comment