Carlton Centre
Encyclopedia
The Carlton Centre is a skyscraper
and shopping centre located in downtown Johannesburg
, South Africa
. At 222.5 metres (730 ft), it has been the tallest building in Africa
for 38 years. The Carlton Centre has 50 floors. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 3.5m in diameter and extend 20m down to the bedrock, 30m below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level. A viewing deck on the 50th floor offers views of Johannesburg and Pretoria
.
The Carlton Centre is linked to the Carlton Hotel by a below ground shopping centre with over 180 shops as well as an ice skating rink all set below an above ground public plaza.
. Anglo American Properties began construction in the late 1960s by demolishing the old Carlton Hotel and the closing roads to form a city superblock. Excavations for the Carlton were started in January 1967, and took two years to complete. This was done for the pilons that would eventually driven into the ground to support the new structure. Although occupation of the Centre began in 1971, it was not until 1974 that most of the construction was completed - at a cost of over R88 million. The building was officially opened in 1973.
The building is the head office of transport parastatal Transnet
, which has owned the complex since 1999.
In June 2007 Maria Ramos
, Transnet group chief executive revealed Transnet's intention to offer the building for sale. The Carlton Centre has been serving as Transnet's headquarters since 2000, when the parastatal purchased it for ZAR R32 million from Anglo American Properties. The disposal of the property forms part of Transnet's restructuring program which includes the disposal of non-core assets.
Although Transnet has given no indication of the price, the replacement cost of the building has been estimated at ZAR R1.5 billion.
The high crime rate in the downtown area of Johannesburg encouraged many of the building's former tenants to relocate to more secure locations. The adjoining Carlton Hotel Y-shaped sister building has been closed-down and abandoned since 1997 due to low occupancy associated with urban decay of the city centre. The Carlton Centre itself remains in use however..
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
and shopping centre located in downtown Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. At 222.5 metres (730 ft), it has been the tallest building in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
for 38 years. The Carlton Centre has 50 floors. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 3.5m in diameter and extend 20m down to the bedrock, 30m below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level. A viewing deck on the 50th floor offers views of Johannesburg and Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
.
The Carlton Centre is linked to the Carlton Hotel by a below ground shopping centre with over 180 shops as well as an ice skating rink all set below an above ground public plaza.
History
The Carlton Centre was designed by the American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
. Anglo American Properties began construction in the late 1960s by demolishing the old Carlton Hotel and the closing roads to form a city superblock. Excavations for the Carlton were started in January 1967, and took two years to complete. This was done for the pilons that would eventually driven into the ground to support the new structure. Although occupation of the Centre began in 1971, it was not until 1974 that most of the construction was completed - at a cost of over R88 million. The building was officially opened in 1973.
The building is the head office of transport parastatal Transnet
Transnet
Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on April 1, 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department of Public Enterprises, or DPE, of the South African...
, which has owned the complex since 1999.
In June 2007 Maria Ramos
Maria Ramos
-Early life:Born Maria da Conceição das N. C. Ramos on 22 February 1959 in Lisbon, Portugal, Ramos went on to study economics and taught the subject at the University of South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand...
, Transnet group chief executive revealed Transnet's intention to offer the building for sale. The Carlton Centre has been serving as Transnet's headquarters since 2000, when the parastatal purchased it for ZAR R32 million from Anglo American Properties. The disposal of the property forms part of Transnet's restructuring program which includes the disposal of non-core assets.
Although Transnet has given no indication of the price, the replacement cost of the building has been estimated at ZAR R1.5 billion.
The high crime rate in the downtown area of Johannesburg encouraged many of the building's former tenants to relocate to more secure locations. The adjoining Carlton Hotel Y-shaped sister building has been closed-down and abandoned since 1997 due to low occupancy associated with urban decay of the city centre. The Carlton Centre itself remains in use however..