Contractors for the redevelopment of the Absa Tower in Johannesburg are on site and ready to break ground on a R400 million project.

Divercity Urban Renewal Fund has announced that it has taken transfer of Towers Main in Joburg, with the WBHO / Motheo Joint Venture appointed as the contractor for the project.

The contractors are already on site, with the first steps in constructing the tower already started.

“A hoist has been erected up the entire elevation of the 140-metre tall building, one of the city’s 10 tallest buildings, and will be used to take materials to the upper floors. Hoarding has also been carefully positioned around the base of the property,” the group said.

The Towers Main redevelopment initiative is a substantial investment in inner Joburg by Divercity.

The purpose behind the project is to renew the country’s urban centres by developing inner-city precincts, the group said, adding that it aims to integrate commercial buildings and affordable residential accommodation to create multifunctional, inclusive and diverse neighbourhoods.

Its key shareholders and stakeholders are Atterbury Property, Ithemba Property and Talis Property Fund, and its cornerstone investors are RMH Property and Nedbank Property Partners.

Towers Main is being redeveloped into a mixed-use address, including 520 affordably priced residential rental apartments.

Absa is a key partner in the project, and will lease back nine floors with 10,000 square metres of office space in the redeveloped building.

The building’s exterior will also be visually transformed, with its existing façade being completely removed and replaced.

Changes inside the building will be well suited to a residential conversion, Divercity said, with loads of natural lighting.

“We’re using a special lightweight brick to limit the load on the existing structure. It is designed to be long-lasting, with quality, durable materials used to construct cost-effective, resilient units,” the group said.

The building will have an entire floor of coffee shops, restaurants and recreation, and residents and employees will be able to access retail, child care facilities, a public park, integrated public transport facilities and a wealth of public art.

The 20 floors of dedicated residential accommodation and recreation will be launched in phases, with the first residents expected to move into Towers Main as early as the end of 2019.

Most units, however, will become available in the first quarter of 2020, the same time that Absa is expected to reoccupy the towers.

Read: Construction starts on a new R1.2 billion redevelopment project in Joburg’s CBD