Ferndale is a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is located in Region B of the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

. The area, located in the region of

Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roodepoort, ...

is very central and has a good mix of residential homes, shops and commercial property. It is very close to Sandton with its main route, Wlliam Nicol, extending to Bryanston and Fourways.

History

The suburb origantes from around 1909 and the suburb's name originates from

ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

in a valley.

Businesses

Ferndale is home to

Multichoice MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...

with offices on either side of Bram Fischer Drive between Republic Road and Grove Street. Ferndale on Republic is the new name of the old Randburg Waterfront and later known as the Brightwater Commons. Originally opened in 1996, the Randburg Waterfront was a wharf style entertainment venue with a large man-made lake at the centre. One of the biggest attractions at the centre was the musical fountain, with choreographed displays to many different musical favourites. After the decline of the Randburg Waterfront, the centre underwent a major refurbishment and re-opened at The Brightwater Commons in 2008. The man-made lake was replaced with a much smaller pond and a smaller version of the musical fountain. The rest of the inside area was converted to a garden with trees, with a flea market at the centre. This enjoyed mediocre success, and was sold again, now being re-branded as Ferndale on Republic. The "Commons" in the middle was removed completely and replaced by a large parking lot. Some buildings have been demolished and an additional extension has been built in the old parking lot towards Republic Road.

Residents Associations

Ferndale is divided over two SAPS precincts and has thus been covered by two different Residents Associations Ferndale south of Republic is covered by Linden SAPS and is under th
Ferndale Ridge Residents Group
Ferndale north of Republic is covered by Randburg SAPS and is under th
Ferndale Residents Association

References

Johannesburg Region B {{Johannesburg-stub