Sandton Central- the financial centre of South Africa
I personally seldom go to Sandton Central and when I do, every 3 or 4 months, I am always amazed, somewhat cynical and more than a little disillusioned by the widespread evidence of rampant consumer capitalism on steroids. Buildings, which are often no older than 40 odd years, get torn down at an alarming rate to be replaced with higher, more opulent and more lavish structures, mostly coated in reflective glass. I’m reminded (somewhat irreverently) of the donkey’s urgent ‘Pick me’ line in Shrek!
From the ’60s to the ’80s, my father was one of 3 partners in a well-known law firm practicing out of a ‘relatively’ low-key understated office in the old Johannesburg CBD: no skscraper, no shimmering glass coating, no bling, no cutting edge architectural style, and certainly NO signage! I often think how he would have been aghast at the conspicuousness in size, style and signage of the 5 legal practice buildings below.
Sandton, home to many legal firms
Corporate head offices in Sandton
Sandton has also become the preferred home of many accounting firms, banks, financial institutions and Discovery, South Africa’s largest private medical aid. According to the South African Property Owners Association there are 10 business nodes nationwide that account for 92% of office development currently (late 2017). Of this Sandton accounted for 31% of national office space development.
And the huge development of 1, Alice Lane
A regular guest here at Liz at Lancaster Guesthouse said how he loves being able to stay in the suburbs as he can go for his walk after work, there’s a sense of neighbourhood and there are local shops and restaurants within walking distance. He says, even though his training courses have moved to a base in Sandton, his ‘WhereToStay’ is still in Craighall Park. Thank you Russell.