Just across the road from the Central Kitchen is Victoria Yards, a collection of early 20th century warehouses and industrial buildings that spans 30,000 square metres. By the time developer Brian Green and a few partners came upon it, it was derelict. Which suited Brian just fine – as the man behind Joburg's popular 44 Stanley, he's well versed in transforming down-and-out properties destined for demolition into desirable destinations.
Brian and his team spent much of 2017 developing Victoria Yards into a creative hub. ‘The idea was to turn it into an urban city farm, then later I wanted to fill it with artists and artisans, and some kind of educational element that would slot into a specific gap in the South African educational market, specifically towards artisanal skill sets development,’ he explains. Although still a work in progress, there remains a strong focus on the development of the surrounding community through work as well as educational training opportunities. ‘We want to formalise training so that people can come in from the community and walk out with an artisanal accreditation.’
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