Refurbishment of The Old Granary building at 11 Buitenkant St in the Central City is underway. A restoration architect is guiding the City-appointed contractor to enhance the building, which has been vacant for over 20 years.
The City is restoring the exterior while rehabilitating its interior spaces. The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will use it as a Peace Centre, offices, an archive and a museum. The City’s Environmental Resource Management and Property Management departments are residing over the restoration work, which it hopes to compete by mid-2017.
Its Buitenkant and Longmarket streets facades will be preserved and not altered in any way.
Executive deputy mayor Alderman Ian Neilson says: "[The building] is an important public heritage asset and, as such, it is essential that it is conserved for generations to come. It will also serve a public function to the benefit of the City and the broader community. We are glad that the foundation’s long-awaited Peace Centre will become a reality through the refurbishment of this building. Such a centre would be in line with our commitment to building an inclusive city."
Jacobus Hendricks constructed the original building between 1808 and 1813 as a dwelling house and bakery. The British colonial government purchased it for use as a customs house in 1814. In 1819, it was converted into a town granary and in 1827 changed to a magistrate’s court. Later on it served as a postal office and was also used as offices by the Department of Public Works.
The complex of buildings on this land is therefore of high cultural, social, architectural and historic significance and form a part of the country’s heritage resources which should be protected and maintained.
As the building is older than 60, it is protected by Section 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999 and any changes to the building must have authority from Heritage Western Cape. The building was also recently nominated by Heritage Western Cape for Provincial Heritage Site status.
Once the restoration work is complete, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will be leasing The Old Granary from the City for a period of 40 years. The foundation will be taking on the full maintenance obligations of the building for the duration of the lease.
An exhibition of the foundation’s vision and legacy, the history of the building, and the restoration process is planned for the ground floor of the building.