Reviving downtown Joburg

Alfonso Botha (37) is a property developer and owner of South Africa's most famous apartment. The luxurious rooftop apartment in the old Nasionale Bank building in Market Street, Johannesburg, was used as the setting for the South African version of The Apprentice. Botha and his business partner, Duan Coetzee (41), formed the UrbanOcean development group. Their plans include developing the downtown area into a work and living space for yuppies. They are currently developing Corner House and The Franklin (in Diagonal Street) into boutique hotels. Other buildings in their sights are Stuttafords House, Standard Bank on Library Gardens, the Commissioner Street parkade, No.1 Rissik Street, the CNA building and Shakespeare House.