Ms Gugu Mazibuko
Managing Director:
JHB Property Company
Dear Ms Mazibuko
Re: Observatory Bowling Club
Thank you for affording the Observatory Residents Association the opportunity to secure the lease for the Observatory Bowling Club in Observatory Avenue.
At an extraordinary meeting last night the residents took a unanimous decision to sign a lease of 9 years and 11 months for the above property. ORA will meet with Mr. Des Dyers, portfolio manager, and Ms. Lilly Brown as soon as possible to secure the lease.
We understand that the rental would be R48 per month, as the building is quite derelict. The upgrade of the building will cost at least R230 000 and we will, with the help of investors and funding further improve the premises. We also undertake to pay the monthly rates and taxes of about R2 500 on the property.
Although the community will use the building extensively, we will honour the condition of the lease agreement that the facility must be used for sporting activities.
Our vision:
The club will, over time, be developed into a sustainable and commercially viable community hub.
Four core businesses will be developed immediately:
- A company for nutritional sprout and seeds production and sales (see Addendum 1 and attached financials)
- A conference center
- A food consortium running a restaurant, pizzeria, bakery and pub
- We are currently negotiating with a Johannesburg soccer club to manage and maintain the grounds as a training center, run along the lines of soccer clubs like Highlands Park in Linksfield.
Other businesses to be developed will include:
- The permaculture project currently run at Bezuidenhout Park will use our facility for training courses and workshops. When they run at full capacity, the premises will be used as a weekly organic market.
- Zero Waste will use the facility to run adult and children literacy classes, as well as training courses in recycling, water-wise; herbs and vermiculture or worm farming (See Addendum 2).
- Our suburbs’ gardeners pooled their resources a year ago and started Observatory Garden Services. This company will be trained in organic compost for re-sale.
Apart from using the building mainly as a training center, its core function will still be a meeting place for the residents and their various clubs.
Management:
The businesses involved, whether they are registered companies, CC’s, Section 21 companies or organisations, will all register as a co-operative, in line with the Co-operatives Act and work through the Department of Trade and Industry.
The co-operative will be a legal body with a Board of Directors and a constitution.
Each company/member will have a proportional share in the co-operative.
The co-operative will at the end of each financial year submit audited statements to the Registrar of Co-operatives.
For the daily running of the project, we will appoint a Project Manager.
Finances:
We have investors and the backing of the National Organic Produce Institute (Nopi) to help with funding. We will also register with the Department of Trade and Industry for funds and Local Economic Development (LED) for further financial assistance.
We thank you and your company for the trust you put in our community and will endeavour to, over the next ten years, build the Observatory Bowling Club into a model to be used at all disused bowling clubs.
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