The hotel, on Koch Street in Joubert Park, was built on the site of what was once the Marist Brothers School, the first boys school in Johannesburg, which opened in 1889 shortly after gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand. When the Anglo-Boer War broke out, the school came under the flag of the Red Cross and catered for the wounded.

Aucor chairman Eddie Winterstein describes the auction on June 24 as one of the most important in Aucor’s 40-year history. Other buildings on offer are a 14000m² Alrode factory; a beachfront property in

The Mariston Hotel brings in rental income of more than R30m a year and is offered fully furnished.

“The condition of the entire building is excellent. Opportunities like these are indeed rare,” says Aucor commercial property manager Steve van den Bergh.

“This residential hotel, which has become part and parcel of the Johannesburg skyline — at 32 stories it is the fourth-tallest building in the Johannesburg city centre — and of its culture, has been specifically remodelled for student accommodation and is currently 100% occupied.”

It has a gross lettable area of 26093m², translating into 566 apartments.

“One of the outstanding advantages for a buyer is that the apartments have been sectionalised. In all there are 578 sections, of which 566 are apartments with completely fitted-out kitchens,” he says.

It is centred on the needs of students — there are a shop, a restaurant, a gymnasium, a pub, an outdoor swimming pool and secure parking. All the units, he says, are in excellent condition, and are self-catering.

“The Mariston is approved by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of SA (NSFAS), which seeks to impact, inter alia, on SA’s historically disadvantaged students by providing a sustainable financial aid system that enables academically deserving and financially needy students to meet their own development needs.

“This accreditation by NSFAS is a major benefit to the building as it ensures student occupancy for years to come,” says Van den Bergh. “Furthermore, the hotel is in the urban development zone, which offers a range of tax benefits.”

The key to the success of this business is that, in general, student accommodation is a great investment — it is virtually recession-proof.

Van den Bergh says according to property experts, demand for rental units near campuses is increasing rapidly as student numbers and waiting lists for university residences grow. “And the pattern is set to continue in future thanks to the country’s large percentage of young people and the increasing emphasis placed on tertiary education to plug skills shortages.” The result is that there will be an increasing reliance on the private sector to supply the demand for student housing as the student population grows and the budgets of colleges and universities have to be used to train larger numbers of students.

Aucor business and property broker Emmanuel Kastis says while bricks and mortar represent a sound long-term investment, student housing is special in that rent per square metre is on average much higher than rent for normal residential units.

The Mariston Hotel has been a pioneer in the move to return “Jozi” to her former glory by developing and renovating CBD properties, Kastis says.

“Among the most successful of these properties are those offering student accommodation and there is none more successful at doing this than the Mariston Hotel.”