Rosebank: a thriving business hub

Over the past year Rosebank has seen a number of office developments such as the Rose office complex, the refurbishment the Growthpoint properties on Jan Smuts, the expansion of retail space at the Rosebank mall as well as the construction of the Taariq Crescent on Jellicoe Avenue.

Stewart Shaw-Taylor, head of CIB at Standard Bank says that “Rosebank is turning into one of Johannesburg’s fastest growing development nodes and the near completion of Standard Bank’s Rosebank marks another milestone.” Standard Bank weighed up the location options for its new office development in other business areas such as Sandton, but settled on Rosebank for its growth and central location.

Rosebank is close to the headquarters located in the CBD, is in walking distance from the Rosebank mall (which is currently being expanded), as well the Rosebank Gautrain station.

As of April this year, 5 000 employees will be moving into the new building which boasts eleven floors, an east and west wing, 74 244m2 floor space and 3 915 parking bays. The intention is to consolidate Standard Bank’s business units. It also allows Standard Bank to decrease its rental costs and eliminate its concentration of risk as it currently has offices in the CBD of Johannesburg and Constantia.

This doesn’t come cheap though. The cost of construction approximately totalled R2bn: included in the costs were the purchases of the three properties that previously occupied the 65 000m2 area.

As it is following in the footsteps of other environmentally conscious banks such as Nedbank, the building has been designed with sustainability in mind and has already been awarded a five star design rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa.

Its green features include:

· Energy efficient lighting (an automated system that dims and switches off lights if no one is in the room)

· Water efficient fittings in the bathrooms, kitchens, and catering facilities

· Harvesting rain water system

· A gas powered tri-generation plant that will provide energy for lighting, heating and cooling

· Triple glazed walls that cover the exterior of the building ensuring the optimal use of light.

Some of these initiatives are costly though: the tri-generation plant for example is only the second of its kind in South Africa and comes with a hefty price tag. The triple glazed windows cover an area that is equivalent to fifty tennis courts; the blinds for the windows which move according to the position of the sun were imported from Germany. See the graphic below for more detail.

Shaw-Taylor says that Standard Bank is pleased with the outcome as it contributes to creating a sustainable environment.

The bank maintains that the new building will have a positive effect on the existing area, with for example a garden (urban forest), with a large water feature and 422 indigenous trees open to the public. However traffic congestion is an issue; Standard Bank says that to address the issue it will be providing shuttles for workers in between their different offices.

Get commercial property news by email

Free alerts when we publish — pick a focus or get everything, unsubscribe in one click. Subscribe »