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Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

MBDA Central Upgrades

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Donkin Reserve
Donkin Reserve

Over the past several years the MBDA has been involved in a number of catalytic projects in the Central area including the upgrading of Govan Mbeki Avenue, Parliament Street, Strand Street, and more recently, the redevelopment of the Donkin Reserve, Athenaeum and Trinder square.

As the home of a number of historical buildings, a host of galleries and restaurants as well as the abundance of open space, Central is seen as the heart of Port Elizabeth. Several years of disinvestment by local property owners has seen a gradual decline in appearance of the area. The deterioration of the area has also lead to an increase in crime both real and perceived. The initial objective of the MBDA was to address this deterioration.

Given the importance of the Central area, the MBDA has undertaken continuous research, in the form of surveys and economic impact assessments, in order to establishwhat impact the MBDA’s capital investments in the Central area have had on both residential and business sentiment.

The socio-economic environment in Central, remained fairly static between 2012 and 2013. Almost 13 000 people live in the suburb accommodated in just over 6 000 households. The average weighted monthly income of these households was R 15 583 in 2013, almost 50% higher than the average for the rest of the NMBM which was R 10 399 in 2013. This higher value is likely attributable to the greater number of high to middle income earners located in and around Richmond Hill and St. Georges Park. It was estimated that the Central area’s GDP-R increased by 3.9% in real terms between 2011 and 2013, to R 1.12 billion. This accounted for approximately 2.5% of the total GDP-R of the NMBM. The GDP-R per capita of R 86 650 for Central is well above the NMBM value of R 37 376.

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Date: December 12, 2015 16:12

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Port Elizabethan

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