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Mutual Heights
14 Darling Street,
Cape Town 8001
This web site serves the
needs of the Mutual Heights Community - residents, tenants, owners,
service providers and others.
Mutual Heights was one of
the first conversions of an office building to residential use in the central business district of
Cape Town. In this case, the office building is very special,
being one of the finest art deco buildings in the southern
hemisphere. Opened
in 1940, the "Mutual Building" (or "Mutual Gebou"
in Afrikaans) was reportedly then the tallest building in Africa (apart from
the Pyramids in Egypt), and it had the fastest lifts. They still
work, and they are
still fast!
Read more about the history of the
building here. See our wikipedia
page
here. See the location
of the building here.
Contact us at info@mutualheights.net
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Latest news:
| Date: |
Item |
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2nd December |
Yet more on the
scam (see below) - this is the form of words that "ROBERT
SPOONER" is using to bait prospective tenants. As an alleged
British citizen, some of his English language is somewhat below
standard:
From: Robert
Spooner <rj.spooner04@gmail.com>
Date: 02 December 2011 6:13:58 AM
To: XXXXXXX@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Reply to your " Lovely 2br furnished apartment in City
Center" Ad on Gumtree
Good to read from you on your interest on my apartment, which i am
leasing out for rent The apartment is still very much available for
rent. Just to give you a little low down about the apartment and
myself. I am a British citizen. I inherited the flat from my late
father. He was actually residing there only. Until his death with
heart failure. This is why i decided to put up the property for
lease. I recently relocated here in Madrid, Spain. Due to my new job
offer at the Hospital Universitario La Paz here in Madrid. The whole
flat is up for a total of R4000 Per Month. Which i also think is
fair enough considering the location. I just need someone with an
open heart, love and clean to occupy the apartment and put all my
worries off concerning the maintenance of the apartment for now. The
flat comprises of two bedroom. Excellent condition inside. Good
sized lounge, with a sofa, DVD player, air-conditioning, stereo, and
washing machine. Can sleep a max of 4, and ideal for family, couple
and friends. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary
cooking utensils Just to let you know, the keys are right here with
me. But there wouldn't be any problem with that. As it can be posted
to you, after all necessary agreement has be reached and signed into
lease. Also i will like you to know that is not all about complying
with the rent , but your absolute maintenance of the apartment. Just
for the memories of my father. Who committed so much putting those
facilities in place, so i wouldn't want an violation of my property
if finally rented by you. The Apartment is situated at Mutual
Heights, 14 Darling Street, 3rd floor, Cape town 8000, South Africa.
Building facilities includes. Allocated secure underground parking
bay, lift, gym and pool, with 24 hrs security. As for the utility
bills, there are not included on the rent, and also no outstanding
bills. So you be paying the bills and starting the lease with a
clean slate. The minimum lease term is 2 months, and a maximum of 2
years with a possibility of extension. Regards, Robert
Note the email
address:
rj.spooner04@gmail.com
- don't get involved in any way. |
|
1 December 2011 |
NOTICE TO
PROSPECTIVE TENANTS: More on the scam. We have three
or four reports that potential tenants have been dealing with
someone calling himself ROBERT SPOONER, who is working with someone
calling himself JOSE ARANDA GUTIERREZ. They seem to be falsely
offering accommodation in Mutual Heights using GUMTREE.
Their story
involves a dead father, keys coming by courier (that never arrive),
and (of course) deposits and payments that are lost for ever.
They have images of passports that are almost certainly falsified:
 
We are
endeavouring to notify gumtree and the passport authorities about
this scam. IF you have any more information that needs to be
shared with the community, please
let us know without
delay. In the meantime please follow the advice below!
If you are the
real ROBERT SPOONER or JOSE ARANDA GUTIERREZ, we suggest you contact
your passport authorities without delay. |
|
31 October 2011 |
There is a scam
running around where people are PRETENDING to own and rent out units
in our building (and elsewhere - this is not confined to Mutual
Heights). They are asking for substantial sums of money as
deposit before releasing the keys. Oddly, these people are
usually in distant places, and sometimes there is a bereavement
involved to explain why property is suddenly available. Do
not get suckered into this nonsense, and do not send ANY money to
people you do not know, without protecting your interests.
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|
16 July 2011 |
The instructions
for setting your DSTV decoder are now available
here. |
|
12 March 2011 |
A copy of an
article about the building, published in the "South African
Architect" journal in 1940, is now available
here.
It is a scanned copy (7Mb) so it will take a little time to
download. It includes some artists' impressions of the
building, and photographs, but the quality is poor being based on a
scanned photocopy. A copy of the text only (2.3Mb) is
available
here.
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21 February 2011 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for February 2011 is now available here.
Remedial work is finally starting on the
few apartments that are seriously
affected by damp and summons have been served on the developer and
their contractors. We will continue to keep you informed.
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15
January 2011 |
The very hot weather
has accelerated our thinking about energy management in the
building. We are going to seek expert advice about air
conditioning, and other aspects of energy consumption (including how
to reduce the cost of keeping all those light bulbs shining).
If you have opinions, or expertise in these matters, then
please get in touch with us.
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14 January 2011 |
Tenders have been
received for the remedial works (see 1st November below), and
following our evaluation of those tenders work will begin (within
the scope of our existing budget) this month as soon as the
construction industry gets back to work. We will keep you
informed. |
|
28th December 2010 |
There is now a
wikipedia page concerning the Mutual Building - check it out and let
us know if you have any comments or suggestions as to how we might
extend or improve it (or, get in there and edit the page directly if
you are a practiced wikipedian!). You will find it at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mutual_Building_(Mutual_Gebou),_Cape_Town |
|
1st November 2010 |
After interminable
efforts to establish what needs to be done and how it might be done
(we actually disassembled parts of windows and put them back
together again!), owners and affected residents will be pleased to
know that during November we will
be issuing invitations to tender
for the remedial works discussed at the AGM, and that we are
specifying that work should start in the new year. If that
sounds like the start of something, not the end, then
please be assured it is the end of the beginning! It is
likely that the Tower and the Long Street elevation will be the
first sections of the exterior to be dealt with.
Our thanks go out
to the task force that worked on this problem (comprising volunteers
from the Mutual Heights community), and to the building and damp
management experts who have assisted us. A newsletter with
full details is on its way. |
|
24th May 2010 |
The date of the
Annual General Meeting is now 8th June - sorry for the late
notice here on the web site, but you should have received the
official notice by now. Hope to see you there, don't forget to
fill in the proxy form if you are not able to attend. |
|
19th March 2010 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for March 2010 is now available here.
This reports further on the legal situation in regard to the damp
problems, and remedial works. Note
that the planned date for the next AGM is 27th May 2010 - please
diarise the date now. |
| 22nd
February 2010 |
The
trustees are looking forward to meeting residents and owners at the
new year party, this week. In answer to the desperate
scribbled comments on the notices (in the lifts and elsewhere), the venue
is the Fresco Room on the eighth level, and there is no
charge.
Note that there
will be extra security on duty that evening. |
| 18th
January 2010 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for January 2010 is now available here.
This reports on the legal situation in regard to the damp
problems, and proposals for remedial works on the exterior of the
building. |
| 17th
January 2010 |
One
of the most distinctive features of the building is the
extraordinary FRIEZE around the three sides: Darling Street,
Parliament Street, and Longmarket Street. It is reportedly 386
feet (about 120 metres) long. For a long time I
have wanted to try and photograph it, and on Christmas Day three
weeks ago it was so quiet out in the streets that a first attempt
was successfully accomplished. Apart from two sections that
need to be re-photographed, and the fact that a few leaves on the
trees obscure the corner, most of the Frieze is there. Have a
look here (it's a 1.4Mb download so it
will not come immediately).
Here is how it
starts:
When
it loads you might just see a long thin strip on your screen - click
on it and it should come to the proper size. Scroll to the right
and the left to see the whole thing.
The
first two sections (on the Darling Street side) depict Van Riebeeck
landing (to the left of the front door) and the 1820 settlers arriving
(to the right). Around the corner, the inscriptions below the
pictures in Parliament Street include:
1622 - Post Office
Stones
1666 - Die Kasteel
1834 - Emancipation of Slaves
1835 - Durban
1837 - Voortrekkers
1857 - Nongkause
1871 - Kimberly
See
if you can locate them on the visuals. I will be working on the
missing parts when the leaves fall from the trees so that we can see
them. |
| 26
June 2009 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for June 2009 is now available here.
(Also the one for April, which seems to have previously escaped this
tabulated news on the front page!). The June newsletter gives
you a quick report on the damp management project, more will be
revealed at the Annual General Meeting. See you there! |
| 25
June 2009 |
The
date of the Annual General Meeting is now set for Thursday 30th July
2009 at 6pm. It will take place in the Fresco Hall on the 8th Floor.
The formal notice, agenda and relevant documentation will be
circulated to all owners early next week.
Please put the date in your diary….. Thursday 30th July
2009 at 6pm. |
| 3
March 2009 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for February 2009 is now available here. |
| 28
January 2009 |
Owners
and residents should be aware that we have undertaken a damp
penetration survey, and we have received 17 reports of damp
ingress, some relating to the structure and some to internal
problems - some are significant and some are not (see the 7 Nov 2008
notice below). We have now met with specialists, and we will
soon be choosing who will advise us on how to solve the
problems. It has also been suggested that we form a task
force to assist and manage the process on behalf of the
community - if you are interested in joining such a team, do please
contact us at info@mutualheights.net. |
| 26
January 2009 |
Just
in case you have not noticed the many emails, and the posters in the
lifts, please be advised that the ANNUAL PARTY will be held
at 19h00 on Thursday 29th January, in the Fresco Room on the
eighth floor. See you there! |
| 7
November 2008 |
The
Chairman's newsletter for November 2008 is now available here.
It summarises the proceedings of the AGM (Minutes will be circulated
soon) and also announces a survey of damp problems within the
building. If you want to report a damp penetration problem for
the attention of the trustees, please download and submit a report -
a simple report form is available here.
In case of any difficulty, you can always just email details to us
at the usual email address: info@mutualheights.net |
| 29
September 2008 |
The
2008 Annual General Meeting has been scheduled to take place
at 6pm on Thursday 23rd October 2008 in the Fresco Hall, 8th Floor,
Mutual Heights, 14 Darling Street, Cape Town. Because there are
Special Resolutions which will be put to members for consideration
trustees are obliged to give 30 days notice of this meeting and to
send copies by pre-paid registered post. The "hard" copy
AGM packs were posted on the 22nd September 2008. But, if the
building manager has your email address, you should have received a
"soft" copy by now. See you there! |
| 10
September 2008 |
Your
webmaster hears reports that work is to begin soon on two things we have been
waiting for: the new garage door and the new security doors in
the entrance hall. The first will require everyone to have new
buttons to get in the garage (shame!) but will be infinitely more secure and might even
work reliably without breaking down (hurray!); in the entrance
hall the lifts will be secured using new glass screens across the
top of the stairs, with secured doors within them (I guess you will
have to use your white card to get to the lifts). We are happy that both of these
developments will improve the security arrangements, and we may even
be able to keep the main front doors open later in the
evening. Further news will emanate from the manager's office
in due course. |
| 24
August 2008 |
The Chairman's newsletter for March 2008 is available here (belatedly, again) - it concerns the
budget for the new financial year, and anticipates the AGM (we are
aiming for October, date to be confirmed soon).
|
| 23
August 2008 |
The Chairman's newsletter for February 2008 is available here (belatedly - sorry about that - AB) -
it provides information about the new arrangements for payment
of rates to the City administration. This is now the direct
responsibility of owners, where before it was done for you by
the Body Corporate. Please note that the email
address given for Mr Mark Lewis in the circulated copy of
the newsletter is incorrect - the correct address is mark.lewis@capetown.gov.za,
as given in the copy of the newsletter provided
here .
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| 28
Nov 2007 |
The
new Chairman's newsletter for November 2007 is now available here - it provides
additional background on the "Old Mutual Sign" saga,
and useful updates on other issues such as the re-cycling of
rubbish - we are to initiate an experiment and we seek the
co-operation of all residents! More about this is coming
from the managing agents, soon. |
| 21
Nov 2007 |
You
will have noticed that the basement garage door is broken yet
again. A security guard has been posted to continuously
monitor access while this problem prevails - if you do not
actually see the guard he will not be far away. Note that we
will be installing a NEW, much more secure access system, with
unique identities on the access buttons. That way, if a
button is lost or stolen, it can be disabled and rendered
useless. |
| 27
Sept 2007 |
Your
trustees have now (finally!) concluded an agreement with Old
Mutual for the continued display of the huge "Old
Mutual" sign on the east side of the building. Your
chairperson, Paul Rippon, and the building manager, Charles
Keefer, are to be complimented on their persistent dealings with
Old Mutual management, over an extended period of
time.
Income from the rental (two years have been agreed, the second
year is now imminent) will be used to build a reserve fund, and
to improve the building. We are considering suggestions to
beautify the Atrium - any suggestions
are welcome. |
| 26
Sept 2007 |
Added
instructions for visitor
access - you can use your cell phone to let visitors into
the building. |
| 16
June 2007 |
Here
is some real but interesting trivia. We are in touch with Randy
Juster in the USA (a serious Art Deco "fundi" who
has allowed us to use one or two of his photos of the building)
and he gives us the following ...
"The largest flower delivery service in
the U.S. is called FTD (Florists Transworld Delivery). For the
last two Christmas seasons, FTD has run a TV ad where a flower
delivery man walks into a building with a fabulous Art Deco
lobby. Believe it or not, that building is the Old Mutual.
How FTD ended up making a commercial in Capetown, I have no
idea."
Well,
we know why they came here, don't we!
You
might like to note that the recent AGM discussed policies for
allowing filming in the building (together with many other
matters - more about that soon), and there was a generally
positive reaction about this. What do you
think about the use of the building for filming? Does it
upset you or delight you? Tell us with an email to info@mutualheights.net
... your trustees want to hear from you. |
| 18th
May 2007 |
The
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING is to be held in the Assembly Room (the
Fresco Hall on the eighth floor) at 18hr00 on 30th May.
The documentation package can be downloaded here.
If you are not able to attend you are URGED
to submit your PROXY FORM to
the managing agent, so that a quorate meeting can be allowed to
proceed with this important business. We look forward to
seeing you there, there will be refreshments afterwards ... |
| 17th
May 2007 |
A
complete
copy of the Mutual
Building Heritage Report is now available here
- this interesting report provides information about the history
of the building, the heritage "content", and even
provides floor plans for every floor (including the basement).
It is a large (scanned) file - we are seeking out an
"original" copy that would be smaller and clearer, but
in the meantime here is what we have. |
| 11th
May 2007 |
The
first version of the web site is now essentially complete, and available for
general use. |
| 25th
April 2007 |
This
web updated to include all basic content (but there is much more
to come - watch for announcements here). |
| 24th
April 2007 |
You now have LESS
THAN ONE WEEK to object to your rating valuation - go to www.capetown.gov.za
to check it out. See the Chairman's newsletter on this
matter. |
| 30th
March 2007 |
The Mutual Heights
"Internet Survey" report is available here.
You will need the free Acrobat
reader to access the contents (and most of the other
documents on this web). |
| 29th
March 2007 |
This web site
initiated |
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