Joburg goes the whole Nine Yards

There’s a deep thirst among Joburgers for safe, green, eco-conscious entertainment spaces. This is clear when trying to find parking at Nine Yards in Parktown North, which is being inundated even though it only opens officially within the next month. 

Two years ago, the owners of Nine Yards, Marc Lubner, Arnold Forman, Timothy Sammons, and Mike Hunt, put their heads together to create a suburban sanctuary rooted in heritage and community. It would offer bespoke food and shops, wellness, art, and culture, in an unhurried environment. 

Lubner told the SA Jewish Report this week that they wanted to “build the Johannesburg we all aspire to. Because if you think about it, why do we live in Joburg? There’s crime, poor services … We live behind closed doors, and we don’t socialise the way we used to. Why don’t we all pack up and go live in Cape Town? Why don’t we all go and live on the Garden Route? 

“Joburgers have this spirit that we want to integrate, we want to be social, we want to be outdoors. And we have the best weather in the country for that. But there wasn’t a safe space for it,” said Lubner. 

Ubuntu, “I am because we are”, was central to their thinking. This means that everyone who comes to Nine Yards becomes a part of the community. 

“We want people who are sensitive to the environment. We don’t want to see pollution all over. And people who are also sensitive to other people. So, you know, if you’re going to come here with your DJ booth blaring, that’s insensitive to the people who don’t necessarily want it. If you’re going to come with a dog, come with a doggy bag to pick up after it. It’s that kind of consciousness,” said Lubner. 

“We want the Johannesburg we always thought about. We don’t want the Johannesburg that you see on the streets, of crime and pollution. And it seems that everyone has bought into that vision.” 

Sammons, Chief Executive of Cadastral Capital, said, “Nine Yards is built around a simple but powerful idea: Johannesburg deserves places that feel human, hopeful, and full of possibility.” 

The property on which Nine Yards stands has been in the Lubner family’s property portfolio for decades. When deciding what to do with it, the family opted to develop it. 

Plans for a retail property, and later office blocks, didn’t come to fruition. Lubner and Forman, together with Sammons and Hunt from Cadastral, came up with the idea of making a space like the popular Oranjezicht City Farm & Market in Cape Town. 

“From the outset, the vision was to create a lifestyle environment rather than a traditional retail centre. The existing nursery is inherently seasonal, and we saw an opportunity to build something more consistent and experiential around it. Working with our project team, Cadastral, the idea evolved into repurposing the existing residential homes into retail spaces, allowing us to create a neighbourhood offering within a garden setting,” said Forman. 

Nine properties were joined, one of which houses the Garden Shop, owned by Lubner’s uncle and cousin. “The first step was to buy the Garden Shop. And then the idea was to build a fruit and veg,” he said, “We wanted a different kind of fruit and veg shop, not bulk and cheap, but something curated, with exotic produce and a real sense of discovery.” 

The old Bunches florist space was revitalised into Garden Fresh, introducing fresh produce, while expanding the flower offering. This created a more complete and complementary experience alongside the nursery. 

That thinking shaped the entire development. “We chose tenants you wouldn’t typically find in a mall. Even with Doppio, it wasn’t about the standard Doppio Zero – we were interested because they were piloting Doppio Bistro. The focus was always on places that feel distinctive, considered, and a little unexpected.” 

Designed by Matthew Miller (Milarchi), with landscape architecture by Patrick Watson, Nine Yards blends adaptive reuse, contemporary design, and garden-led urbanism to create an experience that is human, hopeful, and distinctly Joburg. 

Security was a main target. Lubner said he was adamant the space had to be safe not only from crime, but also for children to run around in. 

Along the central walkway, nine different coloured tiles lead to different zones. “So you can say to your child on his bicycle, ‘Follow the blue zone, and I’ll meet you at the blue zone in 15 minutes’, and you don’t have to worry about them,” he said. 

“My whole dream is that we create a community here. We want people to frequent the facilities. We want people who are coming here to have a mindset that it’s a healthy environment. The community we want to attract is that community that aspires to live healthily, both emotionally and physically.”