Real estate firm starts Sh3.5bn high-end housing in Tatu City

A real-estate developer has announced plans to build 450 apartments worth Sh3.5 billion on a 10-acre parcel of land at Tatu City, a proposed city-within-a-city near Nairobi.

Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony, Lifestyle Estates chief executive Peter Karoki said the projects set to accommodate 2,250 residents would be ready for occupation by December 2018, providing two- and three-bedroom units within the high-end gated community in Kiambu County-based Tatu City.

The first phase of the firm’s holding totalling 30 acres will be undertaken by Canton Building and Construction Company. The remaining 20 acres will be developed later, he said.

“Tatu City offers Lifestyle Heights the full complement of infrastructure to provide our prospective residents with a controlled and gated community within a wider organised development,” said Mr Karoki on Thursday.

Tatu City country head Nick Langford welcomed the development, saying it would offer more Kenyans an opportunity to own homes while injecting fresh capital towards realisation of the larger city-within-a-city vision.

Lifestyle Estates was behind building of Lifestyle Gardens, comprising 70 four-bedroom units off Mombasa Road in Nairobi.

Other projects are Lifestyle Terraces, a 280 two- and three-bedroom units off Mombasa Road adjacent to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the third project in Lavington dubbed Lifestyle Signature, which comprises of five-bedroom villas.

The new development comes hardly two days after Tatu City majority owners, Rendevour Group, announced breaking ground for Tatu Waters Estate comprising of 2,715 residential houses worth Sh35 billion.

The project will consist of 402 two-bedroom, 1,294 three-bedroom and 1,019 four-bedroom units constructed as either apartments or townhouses.

Upon completion within the next two decades, Tatu City is expected to comprise homes, schools, offices, a shopping district, medical clinics, nature areas, a sport and entertainment complex as well as a manufacturing hub for its 150,000 residents.

This week it was also announced that Nova Pioneer, formerly Nova Academies, would next month break ground for a Sh400 million primary school within Tatu City, as the South Africa-based firm grows its offering which currently consists of two high schools.

Earlier, Chandaria Industries announced plans to build a Sh5 billion tissue paper manufacturing factory in Tatu Industrial Park expected to double its production capacity. Other firms including Bidco have also said they would set up in the industrial section.