The city administration plans to offer new incentives to owners of heritage buildings in the Old Town area in West Jakarta who want to renovate their property, an official said.
Candrian Attahiyat, the head of the Old Town management unit, said owners who could not build a high-rise buildings in the heritage area could instead be allowed to build in other areas.
"The transfer development rights *TDR* can be sold to other investors. Locations for building high-rises are Glodok *West Jakarta* or Pancoran *South Jakarta*," he told The Jakarta Post by phone Thursday.
He said owners of buildings of a certain height, still to be determined by the city's spatial planning agency, would have the right to build in another development.
This move is more effective than giving incentive through property tax reduction, Candrian said.
Cities including Semarang in Central Java and Yogyakarta offer incentives to owners of old buildings in the form of tax breaks. The new incentive, Candrian said, would be put in a gubernatorial decree regulating Old Town planning.
"We are waiting for the city's 2010-2030 spatial plan to be finalized before submitting the gubernatorial decree," he said.
To date, the spatial plan draft had not been discussed by the City Council.
Ella Ubaidi, a representative of Old Town property owners, said she supported the new incentive but said the effort would not be enough to revitalize the heritage area.
"I don't think the gubernatorial decree is enough. We urgently need better accessibility to the area, cleanliness, security and smooth traffic," she told the Post over the phone.
She said heavy traffic congestion caused by public vehicles waiting on passengers made people reluctant to visit the Old Town.
Ella said the polluted river, high crime rate and wandering vagrants also deterred visitors. She said area property owners had enough capital to revitalize their own buildings and start up businesses in the area but were afraid they would fail without drastic changes.
"We have the money but we won't invest if people continue to stay away," she said.
Eka Chandra, the owner of Batavia Cafe, located in front of the Jakarta History Museum on Jl. Fatahillah, shares similar concerns.
He said the number of guests to his cafe was declining because people did not feel comfortable in the area because of insufficient lighting.
"The Norwegian ambassador dined at my cafe one evening. Afterwards, he didn't dare leave without being accompanied by a security guard," Eka said.
He said Fatahillah Square on weekend evenings was an ugly sight as many youngsters engaged in public displays of affection while people who bought food from street vendors would litter everywhere.
"Access to the area for cars is also confusing because there are many streets that are closed," he said.
According to data from the Old Town management unit, there are 284 heritage buildings, 48 of which are owned by state-owned companies, seven belong to the city while the others are owned by private companies and individuals.
Of the 40 buildings owned by state-owned companies, 23 are abandoned while the other 25, including the Kota train station and Bank Mandiri museum, are in good condition.
