Companies

Everest Park gets occupation nod

shelter

Shelter Afrique headquarters in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Home owners at the Sh912 million Everest Park estate in Athi River whose houses were declared unfit for occupation in January last year due to structural weaknesses are now set to start occupying their homes after the National Building Inspectorate (NBI) gave the greenlight last week.

The State agency in a letter addressed to the architect, H.M Gatai, on behalf of the developer says home owners on Block 2B at Everest Park Apartment Phase 1 can now move in as all the structural defects that were identified have been corrected.

“Since the safety concern of the building (Block 2B) which was reported to us have been addressed, the tenants can now reoccupy their houses….Any defects noted during the defects liability period should be addressed by the consultants and contractor,” said NBI secretary Moses Nyakiongora in a letter dated May 14 and copied to the County Secretary, Machakos County.

The estate was built through a joint venture between Everest Park Limited, the developer, and Shelter Afrique as the equity financier.

The NBI condemned the houses in Athi River’s Everest Park Apartments phase I in a preliminary audit report it released last December.

The homes had developed cracks on the walls, the window frames on the canopy were quashed and several window panes were broken.

NBI concluded at the time that the construction work was shoddy, but the developer disputed its findings and appointed an independent engineer to ascertain the structural fitness of the affected units.

The regulator then gave Everest Park Limited and Shelter Afrique two weeks to draw a repair plan for the structurally unsafe buildings including block 2B.

This was the first phase of the expansive estate in Athi River, which has 120 one-bedroomed units that were priced at Sh2.6 million each, 60 two-bedroom units at Sh4.5 million each and 60 three-bedroom units sold at Sh5.5 million each.