Kenya’s tallest residential apartments unveiled in Kasarani

An investor has unveiled plans to build the country’s tallest residential apartments near the Kasarani sports complex, along Thika Highway.

The investor, Kasarani Hills Consortium, said Wednesday that the Sh7 billion development will give the country its tallest residential apartments of up to 18 floors .

The development will span 41 acres and consists of 2,500 one-bedroom units with the capacity to house up to 8,000 people. It is mainly targeted at entry level home buyers or individuals without families.

Works on the project will begin as soon as the investor gets the necessary approvals from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

Although the pricing of the homes is yet to be revealed, industry analysts expect the project to significantly bring down the cost of residential apartments in the area as the developer will distribute the land costs over the 2,500 units.

The 41-acre piece of land is estimated to be worth Sh1 billion, meaning the cost of land attributable to every unit does not exceed Sh400,000. The huge savings on land will enable the developer to sell the units at a significant discount.

Land accounts for up to 35% of the total cost of homes in Nairobi.

According to Mairura Omwenga, a lead expert in environment impact assessment, high-rise apartments are necessary if Nairobi’s housing market is to keep up with the ever expanding population now estimated at over 3 million people.

“High rise flats have proved to be the most efficient way of maximising land use in densely populated cities around the world,” said Mr Omwenga.

The project has received backing from Shelter Afrique – the pan African real estate financier that has invested Sh600 million in the project in the form of a loan.

The new development comes barely a week after City Hall announced that it was reviewing building restrictions in Nairobi’s upmarket estates to pave way for the construction of high-rise apartments.

Real estate players say increasing the number of floors should ease the total cost of building homes, thereby making them affordable to more low and middle income earners.

Residents of the targeted estates (Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Westlands) have however said they will block the enactment of the by-laws as high-rise flats will deny the estates their exclusivity.

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