Black River Park helps to make Obs thriving suburb
Obslife, Mar 2011
BY FAR the biggest single contributor of levies to the OBSID is the massive Black River Park which lies between the railway line and Fir street.
Without the 80 000 square metre A-grade office park, housing 110 businesses and as many as 5 000 workers, the OBSID’s operation would have been much smaller, had it been able to start at all.
It contributes just less than 20% of the OBSID levies, and is represented on the OBSID board of directors by Lauren le Roux, public relations and tenant liaison officer for the park.
She explains the Black River Park’s support for the OBSID: “It’s in our interest to be based in a safe, clean area, so we would really like to see it evolve into a thriving suburb.”
So far, the OBSID has “definitely brought about a great improvement”, she says. “There is a lot of energy within the improvement district — energy, vision and dedication to really improve Observatory.”
Lauren says the Black River Park regards access to the services that Observatory businesses offer as important and convenient for the people who work in the complex.
“Whether it’s restaurants or any services that are provided in Observatory, we are certainly happy to market it (to Black River Park workers),” she says.Likewise, she invites residents of Observatory to make use of services provided in the complex. These include two coffee shops, a beauty and hair salon, a physiotherapist, a car wash, a stationery store, a travel agency and graphic design businesses.
The Black River Park raises Observatory’s profile as a business hub. It is home to Dimension Data, Glenrand MIB, The Jupiter Drawing Room, Adidas, Naartjie, Cadbury and Brandhouse, among others.
OBSID chair wants creativity to flourish
Obslife, Aug 2010
LIKE many long-time Observatorians, Justin Ashley's relationship with the village started in his student days some 20 years ago. Since then his life has become increasingly entwined with Observatory.
Ashley runs his company, Bridge People & Technology, from the same "character-filled old Victorian" in Station Road which houses the Observatory Improvement District, the board of which he has chaired since its inception last year.
Bridge People & Technology is an IT company that supplies e-learning software and consulting services to major South African and international organisations. Ashley has also renovated several Obs houses in the last six years for the rental market.
The father of two boys aged five and one says he loves Observatory for its "gorgeous old buildings and narrow streets, where people walk their kids to parks and to the various eating and drinking establishments that are so much a part of the Obs culture. And the people that fill Obs are so interesting and varied - from Norwegian students, to Nigerian shop keepers, to people who were born and lived all their lives here. It's a wonderful mix."
His involvement in the OBSID, which began when he helped to collect signatures for its establishment, is aimed at creating "a space which is clean and safe and which allows the creativity inherent in this suburb to flourish".
Passion for community involvement
Obslife, May 2010
JONATHAN Endersby, chair of the OBSID's IT and online strategy committee, calls himself the resident computer nerd of the organisation, but he is clearly just as passionate about community involvement as he is about IT.
He signed up for the OBSID even before he and his fiance moved from Woodstock into their Arnold Street home two years ago.
His community involvement is based on a belief that apathy is a disservice to those who fought to improve society in the past. His approach is to get fully involved wherever he stays, and to guard against becoming one of those who only ever make themselves heard when they have something to complain about.
He feels that his belief in the OBSID as a way of turning Observatory around has been vindicated. "Before Obsid started Obs felt like it was under siege and hiding under the bed. Just a few months later and it feels as if we've got a new found confidence and a sense of security that I didn't feel before."
Straight from school, Endersby launched himself into a computer programming career which evolved into business analysis and entrepreneurship. He co-owns a successful web-based travel business and currently works from home on his next internet venture. His passion for Obs started when he took a break some years ago to work as a barman at the Armchair in Lower Main Road. Since then, he's become an Obs home-owner.
"I have fond memories of (participating in) the Obz Fest, at the same time I have memories of lying in bed thinking that if I hear another bottle break outside my house I'm going to lose my cool. It's trying to find that balance that's so crucial and so difficult.
I think we've got the right people (in the OBSID) trying to do that."