73 Juta
Home to The Neighbourgoods Market (now the Playground) with 4500 people on the opening day – a complete coup for the area!
Next was the ground floor retail space, which had been bricked up and used as conferencing facilities – turning its back on the public for 20 years. We opened it up entirely, exposing over 1000m/2 of glass-fronted shops and restaurants, and for the first time, welcomed the public in!
We then sourced over 7000 m/2 of reclaimed parquet flooring and installed a herringbone pattern on every floor of the 13-story building to give it an old-school-new-age flavour. And, right on cue, incredible creative tenants signed up.
Finally, the rooftop venue – Thirteen – a throwback to an age of opulence and grandeur, was opened to huge fanfare.
Today, the must-see 11th floor serves as Play’s headquarters. We are now home to one of the world's finest projects, a rooftop 3v3 Basketball Court on the 14th floor.
70 Juta
70 Juta has become Braamfontein’s first mini-high street, and its colourful facade has made it the most recognisable landmark at the intersection of Juta and de Beer Streets.
Previously an army surplus store selling weaponry, the redeveloped retail space with its light-filled inner courtyard, opened its doors in November 2010, showcasing a diverse range of young entrepreneurial go-getters who share Play’s desire to catalyze street-level engagement and attract like-minded followers into the area. The building continues to evolve and has remained true to its original roots of rotational pop-up stores and exhibition areas for up-and-coming new creative talent.
“I recall a conversation in 2015 with Adidas about doing a store in a container. We didn’t have any space available but while I was on the phone looking out the window, I suggested building it on top of 70 Juta Street. It wasn’t long after that that we had three cantilevered containers atop an ingeniously engineered platform.” - Adam Levy
The building has recently gone through a new iteration with the addition of multiple new eateries and innovative retail outlets, including a rooftop nursery above the old weapons safe (now the toilets).
69 Juta
This building had been the offices of the sheriff of Johnannesburg for almost 30 years. Every Thursday, hordes of prospectors would descend on Juta Street and bring the area to a grinding halt -with quadruple parking on the streets and post-auction banter outside on the pavement- the energy and often tension-filled mania enveloped the neighbourhood.
The retirement of Mr Greyling, the sheriff of almost 50 years, allowed me to finally see through my commitment to him over a decade before to buy the building from him for his retirement annuity and finally bring all of this 1950’s gem to life.
The building is about to be overhauled with some dynamic tenancies.
68 Juta
68 Juta Street was originally constructed in the 1950s and is the first home of Dokter and Misses – one of Johannesburg’s preeminent design companies.
The building has recently been repurposed and is home to Bluelever Design School, The Kandua Software company while the famed all-weather Beach Bar venue sits on the rooftop. The only beach in the city, right here in Braam.
62 Juta
This building has been sectionalized and hosts IFAS – the French culture institute, and one of South Africa’s largest gender NGOs, Sonke Gender Justice.
This building boasts an unforgettable view over the iconic Nelson Mandela Bridge.
99 Juta
“99 Juta is the collaborative vision of Play Braamfontein and product designers Dokter and Misses. After going global in recent years, and featuring in the Vitra Design Museum, Dokter And Misses started to outgrow their space at 68 Juta. They also wanted ownership of an area that they had been such an integral part of for almost 10 years. We all agreed and after a year and a half of overhauling, Dokter and Misses moved to the new design-focused address with its pink and emerald green tiled façade.”
This space is strategically situated close to the Gautrain, major circulation routes and local amenities. Architects, Local Studio, headed up the refurbishment with interiors and fittings designed by Dokter and Misses, whose showroom occupies one-half of the first floor. Alongside these established creatives, will be a program of design-centric pop-ups.
Milner Park
Built in 1888, the Milner Park Hotel is a landmark. As one of the oldest surviving buildings in Braamfontein, it is still the home of Johannesburg’s second oldest operational bar – Kitchener’s Carvery.
While the building has strong roots in the colonial history of the country, it has now been absorbed into Johannesburg’s progressive and energetic community.
The hotel rooms upstairs were cleverly converted into commercial office spaces | art gallery space that now cater for young creative entrepreneurs.
153 Smit
In winter 2011 construction began on a bespoke new space for Nike South Africa overlooking the Mandela Bridge and the Johannesburg city skyline. In conversation with the then creative head, Kemi Benjamin, Play commandeered the architectural services of BD Studios and an incredible new cantilevered cube was suspended on the rooftop of the original 2-storey building on Smit Street.
This now is used for events, pop-pop ups and short rentals. An iconic space in the heart of Braam.
155 Smit
The artful conversion of 155 Smit Street, a once semi-derelict building, into the most prestigious inner-city apartment block is widely recognized as a landmark project in the city’s development. Its iconic-glass fronted apartments with 360-degree views over the city skyline and the Nelson Mandela Bridge gave the company its signature style and set it on a path of design-focused, detail-obsessed, and human-centred redevelopments that would see it become one of the most sought-after residential properties in South Africa, that would fundamentally change the area forever.
This bold move, by a 25-year-old, established the company’s rightful place as the initial catalyst for urban renewal in Braamfontein – and has become the industry standard for creative and progressive urban property development.
6 De Beer
Now, most hallowed stories of city revival denote how bakeries play an integral role in the scent and appetite of an area. Cue 6 de Beer Street – the little building that could and would.
It was across the road from 155 Smit Street and the natural place to create a bakery. When Adam bought it, it was in an absolute state of disrepair, but the most coincidental discovery in the process of unearthing this little gem was that it had been built in 1903 – as a bakery.
The bakery opened in 2006, and so the neighbourhood began to be fed – and grow.
Today, a variety of chefs have made their mark here. It is now the home to Wing Republic, the tastiest wings in town.
Looking for a new home for your business?
Contact the Play Braamfontein team here for vacancies and leasing information