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2 October 2003
Standard Bank is to inject R197 million into the Johannesburg central business district in a major project aimed at consolidating and upgrading the Standard Bank Centre head office in Simmonds Street.
The bank will lease 25 Sauer Street, and upgrade it at a cost of R97 million to make it conform with the bank's corporate functional requirements.
The bank is building a R42 million parking garage next to 3 Simmonds Street to cater for staff's parking needs. This will complement the bank's other parking garage in Thorpe Street.
In addition, R58 million is to be spent on a no-break power supply facility.
Says Jacko Maree, Standard Bank Chief Executive: "We have been an integral part of Johannesburg for 117 years and remain committed to the CBD. Johannesburg is an exciting, vibrant, dynamic, well-managed city that has weathered many storms and keeps going from strength to strength."
Maree says the latest project is aimed at consolidating the bank's head office in four buildings: 5, 6 and 3 Simmonds Streets and 25 Sauer Street. These buildings house about 10 000 employees.
''Having head office staff scattered throughout the city does not make good business sense. We are committed to building a unified Standard Bank family," says Maree.
The Sauer Street property comprises seven storeys and is 19 521 sq metres in size. It will house about 1 200 bank staff and has 658 parking bays.
Renovations should start in March and will take about six months. The building will be linked to 5 Simmonds Street by a skywalk across Sauer Street.
The upgrade, to be managed by Standard Bank Properties, will comprise new fittings to ensure the building conforms to Standard Bank requirements as well as upgrades to electrical and air conditioning infrastructure and replacement of the voice data system.
Work on the new bank-owned parking garage will start this month and should be completed within a year. It will comprise at least 1000 bays with staff having preferential use. A secure walkway will link the parkade to 3 Simmonds Street.
The parkade will add new life to the precinct and several old and rundown buildings will be demolished to make way for it.
Standard Bank's association with Johannesburg stretches back to 1886 when it became the first bank to open a branch on the Witwatersrand gold fields. It opened its doors in Ferreira's Camp - later to become known as Johannesburg - on 11 October 1886. The bank opened a second branch in Eloff Street on 1 November 1901.
It moved its head office from Pretoria to Johannesburg in 1959 and in 1970, Standard Bank took ownership of a prestigious new head office building at 78 Fox Street.
In September 1982, 6 Simmonds Street was opened and in 1990, 5 Simmonds Street was completed and became the bank's head office. The bank's merchant banking arm, Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank opened its new head office at 3 Simmonds Street in 1996.
Standard Bank's rates and taxes contribution to the coffers of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council is more than R5 million a year.
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