27 BOXES
It’s been quite a trip from vocal opponent of 27 Boxes to ardent supporter. I would still argue nothing should have replaced Faan Smit Park but we are way down the road and the white elephant that residents despaired about has been transformed. Certainly, we aren’t out of the woods yet and 27 Boxes will only be a real success story when reinvention is complete and the people of Melville use it as it is now designed.
I joined the MRA committee a while back with the express intention of keeping an eye on what was going on and motivating to get involved with management, who had adopted a closed door policy. But then something changed. Gustav Holtzhausen was appointed CEO of Citiq, the company that owns the development.
He talked to everyone concerned – to the tenants, to us the representatives of the residents and to people who had ideas about how to rescue 27 Boxes. More importantly he listened.
Gustav made it no secret Citiq wanted to sell 27 Boxes but he recognised it first had to become a place worth buying. Leon Pretorius, owner of The Countess, put his hand up to manage a turnaround process.
Gustav also brought in consultants Brian Green and Mark Batchelor of 44 Stanley, a nearby retail success story, and a plan to reinvent 27 Boxes got underway. It seemed like an age before the process began but it did and on November 17, the management team welcomed members of the media to a long table dinner at the new 27 Boxes.
It was a low-key event but comments were positive and the food catered by restaurants at the centre got the thumbs’ up.
The following day with cooperative weather, the playground was officially opened. It was the boost 27 Boxes needed to showcase the exciting children’s activities at the centre. Tinker is a supervised art and expression centre; Kidchen is a school for young wannabe master chefs and the playground is the cherry on the top in a suburb that didn’t previously cater a great deal for children’s entertainment.
While the kids threw balls into the water feature, played in the sandpit, crawled through the castle and rode their little plastic bikes down the winding ramp, moms and dads chatted to neighbours and new friends and celebrated the very essence of a modern recreation area on their doorstep.
Hot musicians played cool music and judging from the smiles on everyone’s faces, Melville – specifically, 27 Boxes - was suddenly a jolly nice place to be again.
It helps that the ugly duckling has emerged as a stylish addition to the Melville landscape, complete with a park filled with Euphorbia trees and indigenous plants on the periphery of the centre.
Phase One is complete and the next steps will soon be underway, including balancing the mix of shops – in a way, more important than anything this far. The Baker Brothers are a class act but more such outlets for the selective shopper are needed to make 27 Boxes a must-do daily activity. My own wish list includes quality boutique stores like a fresh-fish shop, an organic butcher, a spaza shop, a hardware store, a good wine shop and of course the long-promised garden nursery. And the fresh veg shop needs to up its game if it is to be a convenience.
These are some of the extras that will keep us residents going back for more. I would also argue for some heaters or a warm room where the market can decamp in winter or on rainy Wednesday nights.
I would love to have ended this email in the belief that my work is done, but 27 Boxes isn’t quite there yet.
What happens next year will determine once and for all whether 27 Boxes will become a well-supported Melville community centre as envisaged by the change agents. Only once that is certain and once it is clear that Melville residents have embraced 27 Boxes, will the MRA watchdog function cease to be required. - Suzanne Brenner
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