Residents endorse office blocks plan in upmarket areas
An aerial view of Nairobi City Hall. City Hall will now present proposals that will allow for development of commercial nodes within exclusive estates to the Ministry of Lands for approval. This comes after resident associations in Nairobi’s upper income estates endorsed the proposals. Photo/File
Resident associations in Nairobi’s upper income estates have adopted proposals that will allow for development of commercial nodes in their neighbourhoods, setting the stage for the building of office blocks within high-end suburbs.
The endorsement in a stakeholders’ meeting last week marks a significant win for City Hall, that has in the past met strong resistance from the residents, including legal suits, for permitting high rise buildings to be built within the exclusive estates.
City Hall will now present the proposals to the Ministry of Lands for approval before adoption of the new sub-zones that are envisaged to ultimately reduce traffic in and out of the estates since most services would be available closer home.
Ephraim Kanake, a council member of the resident associations’ lobby group, said that the redevelopment of the city was necessary to cater for a bigger population but expressed caution about City Hall’s sincerity in executing the proposals as agreed by the stakeholders.
“Having offices within estates is welcome because it reduces movement but am not sure if the City Council will keep a strict code in approving the new buildings to maintain order in the redevelopment,” said Mr Kanake.
Alex Nthiwa, representing the Gigiri Shopping Complex, said that thousands of residents in the diplomatic hub in the immediate UN neighbourhood have been forced to move across town to shop in big malls because construction of commercial building is restricted.
Tom Odongo, the director of planning at City Hall, said that the proposals will be enacted within the year after the views presented by residents were incorporated and the approval from the Lands ministry granted.
“The residents have unanimously agreed to the proposed framework, the consultants will now incorporate their views before enactment,” said Mr Odongo during the stakeholders meeting last week.
The proposals were part of a study commissioned by City Hall intended to determine the best land use within Nairobi to cater for the swelling population which has presented numerous challenges to expansion of the city boundaries.
Top among the issues is congestion on roads which the consultants proposed could be solved partly by spreading out businesses.
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