Brave plans to turn Boksburg North into a New Orleans

The suburb is well-known for being a haven for criminals, especially drug dealers, which has, thus, given the area a bad reputation.

This has, however, not dissuaded Beric Tempest from swimming against the stream to realise his dream – even though it seems improbable to some – of a Boksburg North of old-fashioned family values.

Tempest and his business partner already own a number of properties in Boksburg North on their way to realising this dream.

They have converted one of the properties into a spacious and elegantly designed lodge, and recently took the daring leap of faith of building a grand wedding and conference centre in the heart of the suburb.

Pushing a large investment into a wedding and conference venue for some might seem a poor business decision, but this is exactly what Tempest is building to achieve: a Boksburg North where people will want to marry and to hold conferences. His other plans include opening a jazz club, restaurants, antiques stores and turning some of the dilapidated buildings into luxury apartments.

In order to realise his vision, he hopes to one day close off several blocks in Boksburg North to create a tourism hub (the boundaries will be Trichards Road, First Street, Second Street and Eighth Avenue).

He envisions a centre of business something similar to the international equivalent of New Orleans, or a Melville with quaint coffee shops, restaurants, a world class market and other good, old-fashioned stores lining the streets.

Also part of his grand plan is to incorporate the Centenary Hall and to privatise the Boksburg North Indoor Swimming Pool. Although he stresses that the pool should remain available to the community, with a state-of-the-art gym, it should be properly managed.

In other words, he feels both these venues can be utilised far more efficiently and effectively with the right vision and plan in place.

“Both these facilities are like white elephants in Boksburg North; if managed properly, they can contribute greatly to the overall visual enhancement of the suburb,” he adds.

Tempest stresses he is not looking to gain a monopoly on property in Boksburg North, as buying up of property might be construed to be over aggressive; he would rather get the metro and other property developers and land owners on board to give the area a much-needed revamp for the good.

“Landlords need to be more selective with their tenant mix and maintain their properties,” he says.

“With the right projects and investments, Boksburg North can shake off its negative image and be radically transformed.”

He is of the opinion that, once the area has had a facelift, thus attracting a larger crowd of repute, it will force the drug dealers to abandon their posts.

It also falls in line with the aerotropolis blueprint for Ekurhuleni.

“If you shine a light on a dark dingy place, then cockroaches scatter; this is what we are hoping for, to establish a quality tourist hub, and then we will get rid of all the unsavoury elements in Boksburg North,” he says.

His long-term plan might seem ambitious and daring, but Tempest holds fast to his course of action, believing that his cause will benefit the general community.

Tempest encourages a community-styled approach to achieve this goal and believes that the community in Boksburg North should stand together to help to forge the first real tourism district in South Africa.