Ponte City Apartments (Johannesburg)

Ponte City Apartments is a skyscraper in the Hillbrow neighbourhood of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was constructed in 1975. It rises to a height of 173 metres 54 floors, making it the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa. It was an extremely desirable address for its views over all of Johannesburg and its surroundings, but after the end of apartheid many gangs moved into the building, causing it to become extremely unsafe. There was a proposal in the mid-1990s to turn the building into a highrise prison. The building came under new management in 1999, and thus has improved security as well as the standard of repair. The sign on top of the building is the highest and largest sign in the Southern Hemisphere. It currently advertises the South African mobile phone company Vodacom. In 2007, Ponte changed ownership and a redevelopment project, New Ponte, has been put in motion.It will contain 467 residential units, retail, and leisure time areas.

There is a hollow core the entire height of the building. There is a shopping arcade on the 8th floor with 50 shops and a pedestrian bridge connecting to the University crossing an adjacent freeway.