BOTSHABELO

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BOTSHABELO

• TOWARD GREATER SELF-DEPENDENCE
• PRESENTED BY
• DIANE ABRAHAMS
• GM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• MANGAUNG LOCAL MUNICIPALITY
• SOUTH AFRICA
• PREPARED BY
• DERRICK LANARDO WOODY
• COORDINATOR GREAT STREETS INITIATIVE
• GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
• WASHINGTON, DC, USA
• April 2006

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N8 DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR
BOTSHABELO
BLOEMFONTEIN
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N8 DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR

• A development spine stretching from Bloemfontein
  CBD through Botshabelo to Thaba Nchu
• Activity nodes identified along the corridor
• Aim is to upgrade infrastructure and intensify
  economic activities along the N8
• Botshabelo Industrial area one of the priority
  nodes along the corridor
• Focus for the ICMA consultant was on planning for
  the Botshabelo Industrial area in the broader
  context of the N8 Corridor

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N8 DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR PARTNERSHIP

• Partners Involved N8 Corridor Steering
  Committee Development Bank of Southern Africa
  (DBSA)South African National Roads Agency
  (SANRAL)Airports Company South Africa
  (ACSA)Interstate Buslines (IBL)Private
  Developers
• Financial InstitutionTransnetBloemfontein
  Chamber of Commerce Industry Government
  officials from
• Mangaung Local Municipality
• Motheo District Municipality
• Free State Provincial Government
• DBSA and MLM are co-funding this plan.

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BOTSHABELO INDUSTRIAL AREA

• Botshabelo means A Place of Refugee
• Settled in 1978 after non-Tswana speaking were
  forcefully removed by the Bophuthatswana
  Government
• Located 50 km east from the Bloemfontein CBD
  along the N8 Corridor - which links the
  Municipality to Lesotho
• Population estimate 180,000
• Reportedly the largest township in the Free State
  
• Continues to grow in population, land area,
  public infrastructure needs and need for jobs

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ABOUT BOTSHABELO (2)

• Large under-utilised industrial complex in
  Botshabelo
• Factories owned by the Free State Development
  Corporation (FDC)
• Botshabelo industrial complex contains 150
  factories which employ more than 12,000 in
  textile, plastics and other forms of
  manufacturing
• Most residents are employed in Bloemfontein and
  commute daily via bus or taxi
• Large portion of Botshabelo residents are
  employed in the informal economy
• Contains significant unused or underused public
  owned land in Botshabelo and along the N8
  Corridor

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ACTION PLAN

• PROBLEM STATEMENTBotshabelo unemployment is
  high and the areas housing supply, public
  facilities and infrastructure (i.e. roads, sewage
  and water removal, open spaces and recreation
  facilities, schools, libraries, police substation
  facilities, etc.) are in poor condition and act
  as a deterrent to private investment which would
  assist assist residents in becoming more
  self-dependent.
• GOALTo leverage improvements and economic
  growth for the Botshabelo area (in the context of
  overall N8 Corridor planning) using innovative
  publicprivate tools to create jobs, public
  infrastructure improvements and new and
  rehabilitated housing and retail opportunities.

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PROPOSED TOOLS (1)

• ESTABLISHING A COMPELLING VISION
• What is the BIG IDEA for redevelopment along
  the N8 Corridor?
• Structure the vision
• As an asset and market-based tool
• Guide for private investors in which strategic
  public actions are clearly outlined and then
  successfully implemented
• Private investment opportunities are amplified
  and dissected

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PROPOSED TOOLS (1)

• Make traditional economic analysis more
  proactively oriented towards realizing private
  investment sooner by asking At what zoning
  allowances and minimal public infrastructure
  investments will private investors find
  opportunities sooner and at which zoning
  allowances might the private sector be willing to
  fund and construct infrastructure improvements?
• Implement all public sector recommendations after
  plan approved by the Councillors, especially
  zoning
• Market the plan! Be realistic about results.

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TOOLS (2)

• 2. LEVERAGING A GOVERNMENT ACTION
• Zoning Zoning Zoning!!!
• perceived as confusing and complicating
  bureaucracy, but conveys private and public
  property value, determines what can and can not
  be done and other conditions, is controlled
  entirely by the Municipality, is a grossly
  underutilized yet powerful tool and incentive,
  and can leverage public benefits when very
  carefully structured.
• These benefits can flow to Botshabelo and help to
  bring about improvements and opportunities.

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TOOLS (2) cont

• Planned Unit Development (PUD) N8 Corridor
  rezoning to provide an incentive for private
  developers to seek significant return on their
  investments by applying for PUD approval from the
  Municipality. In exchange for bonus density,
  the Municipality asks for a reasonable
  combination of
• Employment training opportunities for targeted
  populations
• Affordable housing funding production
• Social services/public facilities maintenance or
  upgrades
• Preservation maintenance of open space
• Transportation infrastructure improvements or
  resources and
• Non-negotiable, superior project outcomes in
  urban design, architecture, landscaping site
  planning efficient land usage environmental
  benefits and effective safe pedestrian
  vehicular access.

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TOOLS (2) cont..

• Land Disposal Roughly 1/3 of the land abutting
  the N8 Corridor is under public
  control.Disposal of that public land should
  result in the highest project outcomes to set the
  example for development of all other property
  which is to be developed on the N8 Corridor and
  in Botshabelo.Disposal should also trigger
  required compliance with production of public
  benefits such as employment training
  opportunities for targeted populations
  affordable housing funding production and
  transportation infrastructure improvements.

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TOOLS (3)

• 3. PROCUREMENT OTHER ACTIONS
• Develop a Mangaung First Source Hiring Agreement
  which will be agreed to and strictly adhered to
  by anyone requesting public financial assistance,
  zoning allowances, land disposition, construction
  or contracts equaling a minimum amount or more.
  The developer must hire local and/or targeted
  residents at a minimum percent of jobs created by
  the public action and planned private
  development.
• Establish a citywide Housing Production Trust
  Fund (HPTF) which receives continual revenues
  from a dedicated funding source(s), such as
  taxes, fees, or loan repayments to the
  Municipality particularly from real estate
  transactions. Use revenues generated to fund
  competitive rehabilitation of existing
  residential structures in Botshabelo and
  construction of moderate to higher income (note
  that use was not necessarily high income)
  housing. Require employment of targeted residents
  for 35 to 50 of all construction jobs.

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TOOLS (4)

• 4. LINKING PRIVATE INVESTMENTS TO BOTSHABELO
  NEEDS
• Use existing Restructuring Grant to develop a
  Botshabelo industrial sector attraction,
  retention and expansion strategy (within broader
  N8 plan) and a Botshabelo Phased Public
  Facilities Infrastructure Improvement Strategy
  and require private funding and construction of
  the Strategy when N8 public owned land disposed
  require training employment of Botshabelo
  residents
• Leverage bonus zoning requests citywide through a
  Planned Unit Development process which requires
  developers to provide public benefits (payments
  into an affordable housing pool, construction of
  public facilities infrastructure in less
  advantaged areas, etc.) in exchange for the added
  value to their property and target improvements
  to places including and like Botshabelo

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IMPLEMENTATION VEHICLE

• Public and private actions to develop the N8
  Corridor over the 50km between the CBD and
  Botshabelo will require extensive coordination at
  many different levels, akin to private sector
  timelines and over several decades.
• Evolve the Steering Committee into an full-fledge
  quasi-public N8 Corridor Redevelopment Authority
  (N8-CRA)
• with a Board of Directors to act across Mayoral
  terms, municipal and national agencies and
• as a private sector development agent in the
  acquisition, disposition, development and
  oversight of N8 Corridor actions and investments
  which should lead to economic growth, investment
  attraction, job creation, infrastructure
  development, public facilities and open space
  planning and development, design review,
  development financing, local business
  development, etc.

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NEXT STEPS FOR MANGAUNG

• Integrate ICMA recommendations and tools into
  final N8 Corridor Planning Implementation
  Framework
• Internal discussions around establishment of
  development agency for implementation of specific
  EDS projects
• Marketing and investment brokerage for N8
• Source funding and appropriate budgeting for
  infrastructure upgrade along N8 Corridor

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• THANK YOU