About

Welcome to Rosebank

Rosebank is a well-managed district where community is at the heart of all management efforts and liveability is a top priority. The neighbourhood has a thriving residential and commercial mix, and is popular with both local and international visitors.

If you are in Rosebank, you are just a few steps away from great coffee, restaurants and nightlife plus the choice of hundreds of retail stores, offering the best of local and global brands.
Rosebank is also home to two markets, Joburg’s longest established daily African craft market and the weekly Rosebank Sunday Market. The City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus is based at The Zone at Rosebank, making it easy to explore Johannesburg from here.

With easy access to the main M1 highway, a Gautrain station on its doorstep which means OR Tambo International Airport is a short journey away, an exciting mix of retail stores, cafés, coffee shops and restaurants, as well as a wide range of hotels and meeting venues, it’s no surprise that visitors love Rosebank.

Overview of the area

Rosebank, Johannesburg, is a cosmopolitan and walkable district where business, leisure, and creativity converge. Rosebank has grown into a key economic hub, and is one of Johannesburg’s most prominent commercial districts, along with Sandton and Waterfall. What makes Rosebank unique is its pedestrian-friendly charm, café culture, walkability, and heritage.

Key Highlights of Rosebank

Business & Development

Rosebank has seen significant commercial growth since 2010, with new corporate HQs, hotels, and apartment developments. The emergence of Oxford Parks, a newer district with offices, lifestyle destinations, and the Radisson RED Rosebank hotel has also made an enormous impact. A managed district with ongoing urban improvement initiatives, Rosebank has championed the GoRosebank mobility project to improve mobility in the district and pedestrian life. This is rare in Johannesburg.

Shopping & Markets

Rosebank has three major shopping centres: The Firs, Rosebank Mall, and The Zone@Rosebank. The Rosebank Sunday Market (rooftop market) and Rosebank Art & Craft Market (daily, underground market) offer unique shopping experiences. Along with hundreds of branded stores, We Are EGG and SOKO District are innovative department store style retail spaces with local and global brands. Rosebank is is also a hub for streetwear stores, sporting goods labels like Adidas, Puma and Nike and international high-street fashion retailer H&M.

Art & Culture

Keyes Art Mile is home to top art galleries such as Everard Read, Circa, and BKhz while along Jan Smuts Avenue, you’ll find some of Joburg’s most notable galleries like Goodman Gallery, David Krut Projects, and Kim Sacks Gallery. The district comes alive for art on the first Thursday of the month, with lots of activities concentrated at Keyes Art Mile, for an evening event showcasing art and culture.

Entertainment

Rosebank is home to the internationally acclaimed Museum of Illusions, and the family fun doesn’t stop there. There is also a state-of-the-art arcade games room at The Fun Company complete with bumper cars and other fun things. Inside The Fun Company Cracker Zac’s is a games room and bar for over-21s with a bowling alley, pool tables and augmented reality darts. These are all located at The Zone at Rosebank. For a go-karting experience, head to the rooftop of Rosebank Mall.

Food & Drink and Nightlife

From upscale dining at chef David Higgs’ Marble to casual eateries such as Soul Souvlaki, Momo Kuro, and the Turkish Kebab House, Rosebank offers the widest range of cuisines. Coffee culture is thriving here, and you can take your pick of freshly roasted beans from spots like Father Coffee, Freshly Ground and Motherland. If rooftop bars and nightlife are what you are after seek out the Radisson RED Rooftop, Mamasamba, and A Streetbar Named Desire, just to name a few, and for gourmet convenience: Pantry by Marble offers a 24-hour upmarket grocery and coffee shop.

Accommodation

From luxury spaces to contemporary pads, you’ll find a range of hotels in Rosebank that include 54 on Bath, Clico Boutique Hotel, the heritage rich Monarch Hotel and Radisson RED, along with serviced apartment options such as The Tyrwhitt, The Residency Jellicoe, and The Capital on Bath.

Transport & Accessibility

The Gautrain station provides fast connections to Sandton and OR Tambo International Airport. Other transport options include City Sightseeing buses, Gautrain midi-buses, and ride-hailing services (Uber, Bolt). Rosebank also has a mini-bus taxi rank, and for those who travel on two wheels, secure bicycle racks.

Events & Lifestyle

In October and November, Jacaranda Season transforms Rosebank with stunning purple blooms, and is usually a time when Johannesburg In Your Pocket city guide hosts a number of related events in the district for #Jacarandainyourpocket. The City Sightseeing Red Bus stops in Rosebank, making it a convenient base for exploring Joburg. Coworking spaces: Workshop17, Perch, and other shared offices cater to freelancers and entrepreneurs.

Living in Rosebank

A preferred location for lock-up-and-go apartment living, Rosebank has a mix of high-rise apartments, retail, and business spaces. Upper Rosebank is largely commercial while Lower Rosebank has a concentration of residential streets.

Development Time Line

1890

Eduard Lippert buys part of Farm Braamfontein with the farmhouse and becomes the first house on Oxford Road initially called Lippert Road (now in the suburb of Parktown)

1896

Portion 20 of the Farm Braamfontein is subdivided into 174 erven measuring approximately 3,718m2 comprising the suburb named Rosebank is registered by the Surveyor General, Johann Rissik, in the SG Office on 13 October 1896

1896

The African Critic reports on an auction conducted by Richard Currie selling the first plots of bare veld designated the name of ‘Rosebank”

1898

Rosebank starts to appear on maps

1900

to 1951 Sogot’s Corner a shop on the corner of Oxford Road and Tyrwhitt Avenue. This was located at the end of the tram line from Johannesburg.

1906

Rosebank Primary School opens in Keyes Avenue.

1919

The City Council renames the streets in honour of British admirals of World War

1920

The Sisters of Mercy consider moving from their convent in Mafikeng to Rosebank and Bishop O’Leary finds a house at 21 Sturdee Avenue to accommodate them

1924

Rosebank Hotel opens as a residential hotel

The Rosebank Telephone Exchange is built (now the Monarch Hotel)

1930

Rosebank Convent, now named St Teresa’s school is founded.

The Rosebank Telephone Exchange building is substantially enlarged to accommodate the Saxonwold Post Office.

The first street trees are planted in Tyrwhitt Avenue.

1933

Kingsmead College is founded opening its doors in 1934 (this is technically in Melrose)

1935

Council Resolution is passed renaming Oxford Road

The Rosebank Fire Station is designed and constructed by the City Engineers and is opened in 1936.

1936

The Rosebank Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is established.

1938

The present Convent is built for the Sisters of Mercy

1940’s / 1950’s

Oxford Road and Tyrwhitt Avenue, Rosebank develops into a mixed use high density residential and business area with spontaneous shops around Sogot’s corner at the intersection of the roads

1947

Broadlands is built designed by the architect L Filipek with glass panels by artist Rene Shapshak (16 Sturdee Avenue)

Thrupps moves from town to Rosebank (2 Tyrwhitt Avenue, cnr Jan Smuts Ave)

1950

The street trees of Rosebank are large enough to start to define the public environment and form the urban forest of Johannesburg.

1960

Aaron Aronovsky applies for change of rights on his property (now The Firs). The council refuses and he takes the matter to court.

1970

A new surge of development with 21 rezoning applications submitted to Council. The Director of Town & Regional Planning, at the Johannesburg Municipality, Mr Reinecke, appoints architect and urban designer, Max Kirchoffer, as a consultant to draw up an overall plan for the harmonious development to the eastern shopping area of Rosebank. In addition, the need to provide mid block pedestrian servitudes to support easy pedestrian movement through Rosebank is identified and the servitudes registered.

1971

Council approves the Rosebank Centre Redevelopment : Eastern Development. This expands the Rosebank retail offering from being focussed along high streets by introducing neighbourhood Malls.

1972

Rosebank Primary School relocated and rebuilt after it burnt down between Sturdee Avenue and Bath Avenue.

1973

Original Rosebank Hotel is demolished and a new hotel built designed by Manfred Hermer and Grosskopff.

1975/6

Biermann Avenue road reserve acquired and constructed by the City of Johannesburg.

1978

Tyrwhitt Avenue between Oxford Road and Cradock Avenue is closed and redeveloped into a pedestrian only high street.

1986

The City of Johannesburg resolves to close Cradock Avenue midblock between Baker Street and Tyrwhitt Ave.

1991

Cradock Avenue between Tyrwhitt Ave and Baker Street develops into an African curio market

1992

The City of Johannesburg identifies the Rosebank Box and place a ceiling on development of non-residential uses of a floor area ratio of 1.2

1995

The Zone, fronting onto the Council owned open parking area is designed by Manfred Hermer & Grosskopff Architects and developed for Old Mutual by Intaprop.

1996

The closure of Cradock Ave as per the 1986 City of Johannesburg Resolution is implemented. The informal curio traders are relocated into an African Curio Market, housed in a building constructed in the former street area of Cradock Avenue.

1995

The Hyatt Regency, designed by GAPP Architects, is built on the corner of Oxford Road and Biermann Ave, Rosebank.

1998

The City of Johannesburg approves and develops the Rosebank mini-bus taxi rank on Cradock Avenue between Biermann and Jellicoe Avenues.

2008

The Rosebank Urban Development Framework is adopted by the City of Johannesburg which permits higher density development with higher floor area ratio’s in and around Rosebank and identifies the northern expansion of Rosebank along Oxford Road.

2010

Rosebank Gautrain Station opens for the Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa. The opening of the Rosebank Gautrain is a very important catalyst for the further growth and development of Rosebank.

The Monarch Hotel, Rosebank opens. (the 1924 Telephone Exchange building, which became the Saxonwold Post Office is converted into a boutique hotel) The building is a Blue Plaque building protected in terms of the Heritage Act.

Oxford Road is widened to 6 lanes with additional turning lanes on the eastern side of Rosebank.

2013

Standard Bank opens its new headquarters designed by GHL Architects in Rosebank. The 9 storey atrium is the backdrop to a suspended 3 dimensional artwork, weighing 1.5 tons, by Marco Cianfanelli, entitled “The Seed”.

2017

Rosebank expands northwards along Oxford Road with the commencement of construction of the mixed-use higher density Oxford Parks Precinct.

2019

The City of Johannesburg adopts The Nodal Review Policy which identifies the greater Rosebank area as a Metropolitan Node, permitting higher densities and development up to 20 storeys. The Rosebank Metropolitan Node expands Rosebank to include large parts of Melrose and Dunkeld.

2020

By February 2020, Rosebank Gautrain Station registers 1,200,000 passenger trips per month. (Check this with Gautrain)