Carlton Centre

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The view from the observatory of the Carlton Centre

The Carlton Centre is a skyscraper and shopping centre located in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (731 feet), it is the tallest building in Africa and about half the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Anglo American Properties began construction in the late 1960s with the demolition of the old Carlton Hotel and the closure of roads to form a city superblock. Massive excavation works saw a crater formed, where pilings were driven into the ground to support the new structure. The building was officially opened in 1973, around the same time as the Sears Tower and some two years after the opening of the World Trade Center. Its construction gave further impetus to the nickname that was given to Johannesburg: "the New York of Africa."

The Carlton Centre was designed by high-profile US architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It has 50 stories, including a viewing deck on the 50th floor, which affords views of the whole city and Pretoria. The building is the head office of transport parastatal Transnet, which has owned the complex since 1999.

During June 2007 Maria Ramos, Transnet group chief executive revealed Transnet's intention to offer the building for sale. The Carlton Centre has been serving as Transnet's headquarters since 2000, when the parastatal purchased it for ZAR R32 million from Anglo American Properties. The disposal of the property forms part of Transnet's restructuring program which includes the disposal of non-core assets.

Although Transnet has given no indication of the price, the replacement cost of the building has been estimated at ZAR R1.5 billion.^[1]

The high crime rate in the downtown area of Johannesburg encouraged many of the buildings former tenants to relocate to more secure locations.