Evidence of inner-city renewal in central Johannesburg, Braamfontein and Newtown has brought new business to the area, according to a study by property services group Broll.

"Crime levels have decreased in the area, but that didn't factor into the study because there will always be crime everywhere," Keke Khojane, the company's area specialist and commercial broker, said on Monday.

"The CCTV [closed circuit television] cameras throughout all the major financial hubs might have something to do with that."

The study, released last week, said transformation had been fuelled by a number of developments, including increased accessibility to highways, rail and buses, as well as the establishment of a fashion and garment manufacturing node.

In October 2004 an 18 square-kilometre area was designated an urban development zone. Since then the area had contributed R8-billion to the city's CBD.

Projects nearing completion were the development of Ellis Park, Joubert Park, Gandhi Square, the Braamfontein corporate precinct, the upgrade of Main Street and the Johannesburg art city project.

Broll Property Group a commercial property services company. It specialises in converting property data into market knowledge.