Kenya is set to see the construction of a 22 storey luxury apartment and business complex that will be the tallest residential building in Nairobi. The project, dubbed Le’ Mac, follows the recent luxury housing boom which has prompted developers like My Space Properties, Gao Yu International and English Point Marina to unveil similar yet smaller scale projects across the country.
Hass Consult and Mark Properties, two of the country’s real estate developers were part of the joint venture that led to the project’s inception. The high rise structure, which was first unveiled during the annual East Africa Housing and Construction Expo at the Sarit Center on the 7th of September 2012, will be the first building of its kind in Kenya.
“As it is, our city now has no shortage of new and beautiful tower blocks. But few are, in fact, taller than 10 or 12 floors, and almost all of the most modern and most beautiful blocks are dedicated to commercial and office use,” said Ravi Vasta one of the Directors at Mark Properties.
Speaking during the official launch of the Le’ Mac building at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi on Monday, Vasta said that the project’s lead architects had drawn their inspiration from several building designs found within the United Arab Emirates. He also noted that the building would be eco-friendly, using solar power, a duel plumbing system and rain catchment tanks as part of the developer’s green initiative.
According to the Kenya Home’s Guide, the project will cost about KES 3.5 billion to construct. Mr Vasta reports that the project will be fully funded by the private sector, giving Kenyans access to half of the 170 apartments in the complex. The developers intend to keep the rest for their own commercial purposes. The Guide also states that one bedroom apartments will sell for between KES 14.4 million and KES 15.5 million, depending on the floor plans.
Vasta noted that the same apartments will generate more than KES 150,000 a month in rental fees. He has since encouraged investors willing to lease the units not to pass up on the opportunity to generate some income.
The Le’ Mac project comes at a time when only 20,000 mortgages have been taken within the past year, according to a report by Hass Consult. In a related note, a public address on behalf of Britam states that the country can only provide 30,000 housing units a year, despite an annual demand for 200,000.
The complex is due for completion in 2015.