Joburg City hosts workshop to discuss affordable student accommodation

The City of Johannesburg hosted a  workshop with various institutions of higher learning and student representatives yesterday, 11 April, to discuss how the City can assist in the provision of affordable, quality student accommodation.

The City said in a statement that it recognised that there is a growing demand for safe and affordable options for students throughout the City. The City added that it is committed to playing a proactive role in addressing these challenges.

According to the statement, the City is finalising a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of South Africa (Unisa) and various TVET Colleges.

“The MoU identifies key areas of collaboration between the City and universities represented, with student accommodation identified as a primary concern,” said the statement.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the UJ, Wits, Central Johannesburg Technical College, Unisa and the City gave the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) an opportunity to present the progress made by the City to date.

Some of these initiatives include:

• Since the launch of the Inner City Revitalisation Programme in October 2017, 154 City-owned properties have been released by Council for mixed-use development by the private sector. A portion of these properties will be earmarked for development for student accommodation
• Joshco is completing the ‘Nederburg Building Project’, which is the first building to be used for student accommodation. Targeted for completion in June this year, it will provide 120 beds for students
• In addition to this, an additional three projects are in the pipeline with Joshco and will add an additional 1 257 beds
• JPC is working to identify strategic land parcels or properties located in close proximity to institutions of higher learning that could be used for the development of student accommodation.

Issues raised by the institutions included:

• Collaboration in the design of student precincts
• Affordability of student accommodation
• Correct profiling of students who should benefit from this project
• Public safety for student accommodation located off campus
• The availability and access to social amenities.