Construction starts on Sh1.2bn Tiara Office Park in Nairobi

Construction has commenced on a Sh1.2 billion office block in Lavington, Nairobi, which aims to boost the supply of Grade “A” office space in the Kenyan capital.

Property firm Acorn and NSE-listed Crown Paints through a joint venture, Tiara Properties Ltd., on Wednesday broke ground on Tiara Office Park, a six-story office block that targets multinationals and local companies seeking high quality offices in the leafy suburb of Lavington.

The 88,000-square feet office park, which is situated on Mugumo Road off James Gichuru Road, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

“With the commencement of construction of Tiara Office Park, we have begun implementing our real-estate deal pipeline that seeks to meet the demand in quality office space,” said Acorn Group CEO Edward Kirathe.

The growth of commercial buildings being witnessed in areas such as Upper Hill, Westlands and Lavington is a testament to this demand, said Mr Kirathe.

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China Zhonzing, the company that constructed Cardinal Otunga Plaza in Nairobi, is the Tiara Office Park’s main contractor while South African firm Boogertman + Partners is the project architect.

Tiara Office Park is part of Acorn’s Sh40 billion properties planned over the next two years, including shopping malls and high end hotels.

Acorn did not indicate how the office park will be financed but the company has previously said 60 per cent of the financing comes from debt, 20 per cent from equity and the balance from a mix of debt and equity.

The firm recently said it had chosen Cytonn Investments Management Ltd., a newly founded private equity firm, to fund-raise for its latest projects.

Cytonn took over the role from Britam, which owns a 25 per cent stake in Acorn.

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