Melrose: blend of hype and heritage

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in traffic between the glass towers of Sandton and the trendy pavements of Rosebank, you’ve passed through Melrose. It’s an upmarket pocket of Jozi that feels like a deep breath of fresh air and it turns out, we have a Scotsman named Henry Brown Marshall to thank for that. BeforeJohannesburgwas even a glint in a gold miner’s eye, Marshall was running a transport business between Durban and the Highveld.

He acquired a portion of Turffontein and later established what became Marshalltown in the Johannesburg CBD. But his real legacy was further north. He built a family home and more importantly for us today, planted the massive oak trees that give the suburb its signature leafy canopy.

The land would later become what we know today as Melrose. If you’ve ever driven down Glenhove Road, you’re driving through a piece of Marshall’s homesickness — it’s named after his birthplace in Scotland. Marshall didn’t stay long; he was sent back to Scotland in 1897 after getting caught up in the Jameson Raid.

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But in just four years, he set the tone for the area that has lasted for more than a century: an emphasis on space, greenery and a sense of permanence. Fast forward to today and the real game-changer arrived in the late ’90s: Melrose Arch. This 170 000m2 mixed-use precinct was something of a catalyst for the suburb and proved that Jozi residents were hungry for a pedestrian-friendly lifestyle where you could walk from your office to a gym and then grab a world-class coffee and croissant on your way home.

Melrose Arch is a blend of flats, hotels, restaurants and offices. The precinct turned Melrose into a magnet for international tenants and corporate high-fliers who want convenience without the sterile feel of a standard office park. For a long time, Melrose was the domain of the “grand old lady” free-standing homes.

There are about 200 of those beauties left. But over the past few years, the energy has been all about sectional titles. While the suburb has always been known for having limited “For Sale” signs, developments are popping up to cater to young professionals (mid-20s to 40s) who want to be close to the action but away from the noise. We aren’t seeing an oversupply yet, so the market remains healthy.

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