New life for Pretoria’s Christiaan de Wet Building

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19-09-2025
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Pretoria Rekord
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Once underutilised, the building has been transformed into a functional municipal hub – aiming to boost efficiency, compliance, and service delivery.

The Tshwane Metro recently unveiled the refurbishment work done on the Christiaan de Wet Building in Pretoria Central after investing over R9-million in upgrades.

MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kholofelo Morodi, says the project was a positive step forward, as the Department of Roads and Transport can now relocate to a municipally-owned property.

“The unveiling of the [Christiaan] de Wet Building reflects the city’s internal capacity and ongoing commitment to addressing the challenges posed by deteriorating municipal buildings and costly leases.

“For the department, it means improved working environments, reducing reliance on tenders and greater operational efficiency, while for the Bad Buildings Committee, it represents visible progress in turning underutilised or decaying spaces into functional assets that serve both employees and residents,” Morodi said.

Morodi, who also is the Chairperson for the Bad Buildings Mayoral Sub-Committee, believes that housing city employees in city-owned buildings will save millions in the long run, as the metro was previously paying R2-million a month in rent.

The refurbishment entailed extensive redesign and customisation of office space, compliance upgrades to meet safety and occupational health standards, and the installation of computer and communications infrastructure.

Phase 1 focused on preparing the ground floor for the Licensing Department, while Phase 2 refurbished the first and second floors for the two Roads and Transport divisions.

The project achieved space optimisation without the need for new furniture and looks to welcome around 80 employees to the space.

“The city undertook the refurbishments to reduce dependence on expensive month-to-month leases, which were costing the municipality over R48-million annually.

“By relocating departments into municipal-owned buildings, the city will save approximately R43-million per year, amounting to more than R180-million over the next three years.

“Beyond the financial savings, the refurbishment strengthens the city’s internal capacity, ensures compliance with building safety standards, and improves service delivery by consolidating departments into a single transport hub that is more accessible to residents,” Morodi said.

The total cost of the refurbishment project was approximately R9.7-million, which includes professional fees, construction, and supporting infrastructure. The computer and communications infrastructure was funded through Shared Services, and the NaTIS system was funded by the province.

Morodi says the city is reviewing other municipal buildings as part of its office space optimisation programme.

The metro said the Bad Buildings Committee continues to prioritise properties that can be refurbished for occupation.

“The city recognises the urgent need for safe, affordable housing and is working with both the private sector and provincial government to unlock investment into this sector.

“The outcomes of the Investment Summit highlighted strong interest from developers in repurposing city-owned buildings for mixed-use and social housing projects.

“While the Christiaan de Wet Building is dedicated to municipal services, several other properties are currently being assessed for possible conversion into affordable housing. Residents can expect concrete project announcements in this regard in due course,” Morodi said.

The Christiaan de Wet licensing centre on 175 Es’kia Mphahlele Drive was officially launched on December 11, 2022, and an serve 350 residents a day.