The modern, changing face of Ngara

Another skyscraper rises on Kipande Road just a few months after the last block was occupied. This is the third building to be constructed recently along this road. It’s a hotel building situated at the edge of Itesyo lane, a few metres from Chandarana Supermarket in Ngara.

Slanting on it is Mvuli Suites, another magnificent high-rise apartment building which was completed last year. The new studio flats for business travellers and the hotel are among buildings coming up in the vicinity and rapidly changing the face of this side of town.

These works are changing the face of this lower part of Ngara bringing in a new aspect in a residential location that seemed to have resisted the change coming up I most of the hitherto lower end estates.

However, the area is now yielding to the rising pressure being felt in the real estate market. Developers are knocking at its door bringing in a touch of modernity. They are replacing the old one-floored Asian-styled houses with skyscrapers that have littered the whole of Nairobi.

On yet another lane, opposite Chandarana supermarket, right inside Ngara, one owner, of an Asian-styled house seems to have smelled the coffee. He has already marshalled a group of young men to start a new construction.

Maurice Otieno, a foreman is overseeing this current development. In 2010, he was part of another construction in Ngara Road, still in Ngara.  The design was one-bedroomed apartment s comprising of 64 units.

Maurice is currently building a five storeyed one-bedroomed apartments on land previously occupied by a one-floored house. The occupants were a family of four.

However, the new owner wants to make use of space and accommodate more families. This is a story that is duplicating itself all over Ngara as properties change hand. New owners are dreaming big.

“Most of the property leases for land previously owned by Asian are expiring. The owners now have to make a decision on whether to upgrade it or leave it as it is,” said Maurice. His employer opted to build a flat.

Boom

Residents also peg this change to the ongoing boom in the property market. High property prices and demand for prime city plots is seeing land owners in Ngara sell their property to cash in on the boom. The new owners are, in turn, demolishing the old houses and putting up skyscrapers.

But either way, Ngara’s profile is quickly rising and opening up the area for more investment and opportunities. The National Housing Corporation is among institutions that long identified the potential of Ngara.

The state corporation built 655 units for civil servants in 2013. The space come equipped with a restaurant, playing ground for children and nursery school.

Residents agree that modern buildings makes better use of space and are profitable.

“Rental income for our old houses is not as good as for the newly built houses. Moreover, the new houses are multi-storey. This gives the owners returns of up to three times compared to the bungalows,” a resident said.

Maurice predicts that more apartments will be coming up in the next five years. “The trend has started,” Maurice projected.

But even as change comes, Manu Patel, who has lived in Ngara from 1982 since he relocated from Zambia, is distrustful. He complains that the new developments are offering limited space and he would rather stick with the old house design.

“We now have one-bedroom apartments which developers refer to as three bedroomed. The old houses were more spacious and comfortable,” said Patel.

Smaller space

The old residents of the are used to spacious rooms, a fact that is now being eroded as developers limit space for more gains. The residents feel that space constraint is affecting their communal style of living forcing others to rent more expensive houses if they want to continue living communally.

Patel is also concerned about declining sanitation levels, increase in rent charges, insecurity and traffic jams. These are additional changes he says he has observed over time.

He also wants the government to control new developments and ensure they fit them with elevators. since most of the old tenant were not used to stairs.

Kenya has a housing deficit of 150,000 units annually.  The industry develops 30,000 housing units each year. Therefore, the transformation taking place in Ngara is expected to house more Kenyans.