After years of broken promises, another act of vandalism has prompted Old Mutual, the owners of the beautiful but derelict Barbican in the CBD, to make yet another proposal regarding the future of the building.

"I have been mandated by Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments (OMIGPI) to lead an initiative for funding to repair, restore and rehabilitate the Barbican building," says Lindsay Butler, a deal originator at Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments.

But this does not mean that the building will be available for occupation, he adds. His "comprehensive report motivating the funding" will be tabled at the OMIGPI investment committee's next meeting on 11 August.

"I have applied for emergency funding to repair and restore the Barbican. We will forget about the return on the investment."

If approved, work will begin on site in November this year, says Butler. "It will not be brought back to occupation, that is a further cost exercise." The repair and restoration will cost Old Mutual R19m.

The 10-storey building, completed in 1931 in a mix of eclectic classicism and art deco styles, was originally built with ground-floor shop space, a first-floor tearoom with a balcony with canvas awnings, and seven floors of offices, with a studio and servants' quarters on the top floor. Its Corinthian columns and ornamental cornices and railings give it an elegant, almost fairytale feel.

Old Mutual bought the building 14 years ago, in 1995. At that time it was in serious need of repair, and was occupied by squatters. They were removed and the building was bricked up after plans to develop it and the vacant site alongside it were shelved.

The interior of the building has been stripped of anything valuable – metal heaters, wrought iron banisters, metal door and window frames, and wooden floors. Rubble and strips of wood lie everywhere; stairs are chipped and dangerous with missing banisters, and windows are gaping holes, open to the weather.

Workmen are on site rebuilding the walls on the ground and first floors, to stop entry to the building.

The Barbican is significant architecturally, but also because it forms a triangle with some the city's most important civic buildings - the 1897 Rissik Street Post Office, also in chronic need of restoration, and the 1915 City Hall.

Roof and doors missing

The latest act of vandalism comes after architect Brian McKechnie noticed on 1 July that the glazed roof was missing, as well as one of the steel French doors to the 8th floor balcony.

"I assumed that the glazed roof and the French door had simply caved in, due to the years of complete neglect by Old Mutual, the owners of the building," said McKechnie.

However, when he visited the city on Sunday, 26 July, he was in for another surprise. "I was absolutely shocked by what seems to be the systematic and deliberate gutting of the building. All the French doors and balcony railings have been stolen – apparently by vandals, leaving gaping holes in the façade of this once beautiful building.

"The Barbican has literally been doomed to demolition through the complete and indifferent neglect of Old Mutual. What is left of the building looks like a gutted shell, stripped out and awaiting the demolisher's hammer."

He adds: "Old Mutual is a company which apparently prides itself in commitment to the preservation of our environment and heritage. The reality seems to be rather different."

2008 restoration plan

A restoration plan was to be implemented once heritage approval was obtained from the Provincial Heritage Resources Agency - Gauteng (Phrag) in September last year. This permission was obtained, says architect Robin Fee of Fee & Challis Architecture, the firm commissioned to restore and renovate the Barbican.

"It is an iconic heritage building. . . It is very lucky to have survived," Fee says, referring to the fact that squatters have lit fires on its wooden floors.

The restoration was to encompass the complete rehabilitation of the building's exterior, he explains, plus the complete rehabilitation of the interior to modernise it and make it "attractive to upmarket tenants".

Old Mutual was to spend more than R55m on the restoration. The Barbican was to be restored together with the development of the whole site, called the Palace site, which is now vacant and is used as a parking lot. This was to cost R1,3bn, and was to have taken in the surrounding four city blocks that Old Mutual owns. These are the 1066 Building, the Mutual & Federal offices, and the York House block.

Old Mutual was expecting to sign up tenants for the site by early this year. Restoration and construction only begins once tenants have been signed, stresses Butler.

Not the Palace site

He has not applied for funding to build on the Palace site, although he admits that fully restoring the Barbican is dependent on the development of the adjoining site. He is working on a scheme for the Palace site, so that its development can run parallel to the restoration of the Barbican.

The restoration of the Barbican in 2008 was possible because a tenant had been found, confirms Butler. London's Arena Group had shown an interest – it wanted to convert the building into a gentlemen's club, with an element of residential space.

"They had zero financial sense," says Butler, who was given the Barbican as part of his portfolio two months ago.

The scheme wouldn't have worked, he explains, because the potential tenant wanted extravagant fittings. It was also felt that the urban development zone concessions would help Old Mutual to renovate the building. "And the renovations were to be paid from membership fees," says Butler, incredulously.

"We are seeking a unique tenant - this is a crème de la crème building. But we have had interest shown by a national government department."

A tenant had also been found for the Palace site last year, but at the approval stage the tenant did an about-turn.

The site's development is complex, says Butler. Unlike other conversions in the inner city, where existing office buildings are transformed into residential units, a greenfields site where construction starts from scratch, always costs more. And, by the time the building was ready for rental, those rentals would be sky high in an effort to make a return on the investment.

Besides, finding an anchor tenant where there is no parking available makes the plan almost impossible, adds Butler. At the same time he is adamant that Old Mutual will not sell the building.

Old Mutual would want its investment in the Barbican to be offset by the development of the Palace site. Nonetheless, Butler is enormously upbeat. "We are taking this thing to where it should be. Please be positive with me."

Up in arms

The heritage community has watched the Barbican lurch further and further towards "demolition by neglect".

The chairman of the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust, Flo Bird, calls the lack of action on the Barbican, a "disgrace".

"They are the most arrogant bunch of vandals. They simply boarded up all their property; demolished whatever they could and left Johannesburg looking like a bombsite. I have made sure I never again invest one cent there."

Bird says Old Mutual has made repeated promises but did nothing. "They have told me repeatedly they are restoring the Barbican. They are no better than Imperial (which demolished the historic Richmond Laundry site in January 2008, despite fierce opposition). They simply mean it to fall down instead."

McKechnie adds: "With so many urban regeneration projects on the go throughout the city, it is sickening that the Barbican – a landmark building in an extremely visible position in the centre of town, and central to the new Gauteng provincial government precinct – has been allowed to decay to this point."

Lael Bethlehem, the chief executive of the Johannesburg Development Agency, a body closely involved in the regeneration of the inner city, says Old Mutual has become the new slumlord in the city.

Repair order

Eric Itzkin, the deputy director of immovable heritage in the City's arts, culture and heritage directorate, says he has called on Phrag to send a compulsory repair order to Old Mutual, which has finally stirred a "response from Old Mutual". This specifies that the building should be fixed within three months. This is allowed in section 45 of the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999.

Itzkin says he has a file of appeals to Old Mutual regarding the Barbican and its condition.

"Letters have gone unanswered, and the company has not responded to these concerns. As a matter of urgency, we call on the heritage authority to issue a repair notice in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act. There has never been a case more deserving of this measure provided for under section 45 of the Act."

Maphata Ramphele of Phrag confirms that the repair notice will be issued to Old Mutual early this week.

Bethlehem, Itzkin, McKechnie and conservation architect Henry Paine appeared on 702 Talk Radio on the Jenny Crwys-Williams show last week, together with Ben Kodisang, the chief executive of Old Mutual Properties.

Bethlehem was uncompromising about Old Mutual's contribution to the degradation of the city. The corporate owns dozens of buildings in downtown Joburg, several of which have been bricked up and allowed to degenerate. Some of the buildings around Mary Fitzgerald Square, rented to retailers, are also neglected.

Paine believes that these buildings are experiencing demolition by neglect. The same applies to buildings around the Cuthberts block, in Eloff Street, which Old Mutual owns.

"I know it's going to fall down, then they build cheap and crap buildings in its place. They show complete contempt for all of us."

Butler's response is that Old Mutual has spent R200m on transforming former run-down office buildings into residential units, in buildings between Pritchard and Bree streets.

He says that Old Mutual has recently set up the SRI Fund, with the mission of investing in previously disadvantaged areas, like Orange Farm. Whereas investors usually look for a nine to 15% return on investment, projects in the fund will be looking at a 12 percent return. - Lucille Davie

Article and photograph/s courtesy of City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za).

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