20-floor Westlands unit to host 162 families

Local investors plan to inject Sh150 million in the development of a 20-floor block that will host 162 family units in Nairobi’s Westlands.

An application to the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) by Vaal Development and Investment Ltd says the project will be executed in two years after approval.

An environment impact assessment study said the project will efficiently utilise space with three basement floors providing parking lots for 68 vehicles and a further 22 parking lots on the ground floor. They will be guarded 24 hours.

From the first floor to the 20th there will be 42 two-bedroomed units and 120 one-bedroomed flats. To woo millennials to the property located within the prime area, the investors plan to have a tenants’ only community hall.

Environmental Lead Expert Ronald Kimtai of TropoSpace Consultancy said multi-storied apartment buildings are the norm in the area, adding that the development will increase the wealth of investors as well as generate revenue for the national and county governments.

The development of two- and one-bedroom houses resonates with a trend among Nairobi developers eyeing middle income earners seeking decent apartments located within prime suburbs.

Between January and June this year, residential housing developments in Nairobi attracted investments worth Sh63.18 billion while commercial buildings took up Sh37.58 billion.

This year, proposed investments are lower than last year’s where Sh149.5 billion projects were approved with residential developments accounting for Sh70.36 billion while commercial projects attracted Sh58.3 billion.

Sector development was slowed down by political wrangles late last year and early this year.