Braamfontein gets a facelift as public and private partners collaborate to make it a desirable place for visitors and locals

Art, lights and water features are part of the game to make the area great again.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

There is a time in the recent past when hope was hanging in the air about Johannesburg becoming a must-visit city again for both locals and tourists. Where one could go and immerse in its cultural diversity, even sleep in some of the new hotels that were once again places where one could sleep and dream. Tourists were indeed once again scouring its streets, marveling at this city that was built against the backdrop of the discovery of Gold in 1886, transforming what was basically farmland into a global city.

In recent years Braamfontein was one of the areas that showed great promise about of attracting back those with money and tourists that had either relocated to other areas considered safe and clean instead of enjoying the rot that has set in in the City of Gold in the past 30 years. In the case of big capital, the move to other areas and out of the inner city was followed by periods of neglect as service provision became erratic, litter lettred the streets, infrastructure decayed, building were abandoned and in some cases got hijacked by criminal syndicates, overcrowding became the defining feature of city living by the poor and desperate low wage earners, and criminal elements took advanatage of the situation. This had the effect of reducing the once giant city into a former poor shell of its former self, leaving it with the unhelpful feel of a giant museum those with money did not want to set foot in anymore.

But in recent years hope to restore the giant city in general and Braamfontein in particular into its once colourful past was briefly reignited. This is as new restaurants were being established and so were art galleries, such as Stevenson Gallery and Gallery Kalashikovv in Braamfontein, suddenly propelling the area into a desirable area to hang around for students, the hippy types and the curious. Even an odd businessman looking for opportunities to invest once more in the area.

That brif period of hope was around 2014 to 2016, when Braam was certainly moving in the right direction of injecting a new lease of life into itself.

But as both tourists and visitors were becoming positive about the area once again claiming its space in the hearts of both visitors and locals, boom, the area suddenly changed its direction. Doubts about the rebounding of this great city started to show. That was even long before Covid-19 hit. By the time that the global pandemic had receded back to where it came from, the city and Braamfontein were again a subject of dinner talk. People were asking what happened to a city that was clearly on a rejuvenating trajectory. Many questions are still being asked and answers are few.

However Braamfontein is again giving the rejuvenation prospect another attempt, and money is being put into it to drive the area into that upward trajectory mode once again. This new impetus of restoring Braamfontein into a sleek corporate and student village is being driven by a number of players, at the forefront of which is the Braamfontein Management District, which has brought in fellow collaborators both from the public sphere and the private sector.

This attempt to make this part of the city desirable once again was launched on Friday, October 17, 2025, by targeting strategic nodes for renovations as a starting point. I was part of the people who were invited to an event to witness the new attempt to make Braam a welcoming area once again.

Amid a colourful display of music by the Wits Choir, Joburg Ballet, and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department Brass Band among others, we were taken to places that have been targeted for rejuvenation, creating features that the partners have beautified by adding art, water features and lights for the safety and enjoyment of both visitors and locals.

The Braamfontein Improvement District (BID) officially unveiled the Ameshoff Street Identity & Placemaking Project, a dynamic celebration of art, architecture, and urban life in the heart of Joburg, on Friday, 17 October 2025.

This bold urban regeneration project was developed through a collaborative partnership between the Braamfontein Improvement District, Liberty Group, Joburg Theatre, and the Consolidated Urban Management Corporation. Together, these partners have creatively revitalised both ends of Ameshoff Street, from the Theatre Plaza outside the Joburg Theatre to Eland Square at Jan Smuts Avenue, transforming them into vibrant spaces of culture, connection and creativity.