ATHI RIVER | Greenpark | Phase I Complete

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Greenpark
Superior Homes
Athi River

Official website: http://www.superiorhomes.co.ke/
Area: 500 acres
Units: 1550 Houses
Cost: Sh 8bn

Lying to the east of the Stoney Athi River and to the north of the Mombasa Highway, Greenpark is situated on a gentle slope with breathtaking panoramic views of the Ngong Hills. Work is scheduled to begin soon on a new dual carriageway road from the junction at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Site and the road is due for completion during 2006.

Lying 29 kilometres from the centre of Nairobi, it is uniquely placed within a convenient transport infrastructure meaning the city centre is less than a 30-minute drive away.

Frequent and reliable bus services to Nairobi will be provided together with proposed rail commuter services from Athi River to Nairobi.

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Some of the designs of several properties available (excluding the Villas and others)


Bungalows

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Semi Detached Houses

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Apartments

[Matthias Offodile]

woow, that looks really very nice. Will it be close to the capital?

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News report on the development:

Housing Investor bets on Stylish Homes
http://nationmedia.com/dailynation/n...5&newsid=68090



At a time when the demand for housing is rising, an ambitious Sh8 billion estate will have its first group of houses ready for occupation in May this year.

Greenpark Stoney Athi has 1,550 units and is located 29 kilometres from the city centre on Mombasa Road. It will have houses of different types, including bungalows, maisonettes, apartments and villas.

The contractor, Superior Homes Kenya, has been on the site since 2004, when the company was formed. The estate occupies 500 acres of land.

The project hopes to exploit the huge demand for housing, which is currently estimated at 450,000 a year, with 150,000 in towns, and 300,000 houses in the rural areas. Unfortunately, only 30,000 houses are provided every year, meaning that a huge demand remains unmet. A promise by the Government to build 150,000 houses every year is yet to be fulfilled, although tentative moves towards it have been made.

Huge demand

Assistant minister for Housing Betty Tett said last week that the private sector had in fact invested an estimated Sh50 billion in the sector since January 2003. But this has not done much to reduce the demand.

Low interest rates in the last two years have spurred demand for housing but this appears to be slowing down.

Civil engineer Ian Henderson, who runs Superior Homes, says that his decision to commence work on the project was guided by research on the type of houses needed by middle-income households and individuals.

Superior Homes commissioned Research International to do a study, which was conducted among 500 middle-income Kenyans. It emerged from that Kenyans wanted security guaranteed, regular supply of water and electricity as well as a clean environment.

“We realised there was a huge pent-up demand for affordable houses for people with a monthly income of Sh60,000 and above,” Mr Henderson said.

The respondents in the survey also expressed interest in having Internet services, recreation facilities, off-street car parking space to move around, take a walk and even jog. They wanted to have their own compounds and a decent environment as well.

At the estate, a typical three-bedroomed bungalow on a sixth of an acre will initially cost Sh3.28 million. A maisonette of similar size will cost the same amount.

There has already been a good number of expressions of interest in the houses on offer, says Mr Henderson.

Fifty per cent of the enquiries have been through the Internet from Kenyans abroad, mostly in the US and UK, but generally from as many as 50 countries around the world.

The first group of houses will be 500 bungalows. After the first phase, the other 1,050 will consist of the five types of houses in the plan, with 12 per cent of the houses being apartments, and 10 per cent detached villas. Half will be bungalows, while 22 per cent will be maisonettes.

A noise barrier (earth bund) consisting of small trees shields the estates from the rest of its surroundings. A security wall is also to be built around the estate, some 100-150 metres from Mombasa Road. The ample space between the estate and the road is meant to give room for the expansion of the road.

The company was established in August 2004 to steer the development of the housing scheme, with the directors being Mr Henderson and his wife.

Since 1985, Mr Henderson has worked in various African countries as a contractor, including Ethiopia and Angola, among others.

In the UK, he has a construction company called Henderson Properties Ltd.

“We recognise that there is always the risk of failure. But we believe we can deliver the houses on time and the quality that is needed by the market. Our target market is Kenya’s middle-income people, who require a comfortable and secure environment,” says Mr Henderson.

While the first houses will ready by May, the company plans to deliver at least 20 houses per month to start, and increase to 80 houses a month by the end of the year. By mid 2008, the estate should be complete with all the 1,550 houses built.

Strict regulation

For a long time, many investors have complained of a hostile investment climate, where they are kept waiting for months and even years, to get a simple licence. They are also asked to pay bribes. But Mr Henderson says that the company received cooperation from the Government and local authorities in their project, including the initial set-up.

The estate is being established under the Sectional Properties Act, giving 99-year leases to house owners. It bars owners from constructing extensions.

Matatus will not be allowed into the estate, but there will be a bus park inside. A Nairobi-based passenger transport company, Citi Hoppa, has already been approached to extend its bus services to the estate. The basis of the move is that the middle-class residents do not want the type of noise associated with matatus, especially common in city estates. “Even noisy dogs are not allowed there,” says Mr Henderson.

It is expected that at the end of construction and sale of the houses, some 8,000 to 10,000 people will be living in the area. That means the developer has taken into account the need to have schools and convenience shops within the estate. However, no kiosks will be allowed in the estate.

The company has employed 1,000 workers directly. Its suppliers include, among others, East Africa Portland Cement and Saj for tiles.

The architects are Young and Gault, who have an international presence while locally Adventis Ltd is acting as the architect.

Besides the Greenpark project, there will be others in Mombasa, Kisumu and Southern Sudan.

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Terraced

[Kenguy]

Its still U/C. The first phase has just been finished but the project is still going on.

Here is a small pic.

image hosted on flickr

[ernestombayo7]

Originally Posted by Kenguy

Its still U/C. The first phase has just been finished but the project is still going on.

Here is a small pic.

image hosted on flickr

I would not mind living there.3.8 Million ksh for a 3 bedroomed is quite affordable.And considering Mombasa road is now dual carriageway upto the city center.,then it should be relatively fast to get into town.

[qymekkam]

kenya slow it down a bit will ya let the rest of africa catch up lol

[Adm.Adama]

How did this project fair up is it complete any photos

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Greenpark:





















Road widening:

[Sarjent]

wow! na hapa ni athi river... noma sana aisee

[Adm.Adama]

looks like a typical american suburbs, Athi River is going to become the new westlands, watch this space

[Kenguy]

Its not complete. This is phase 1 of the project. Phase II will start soon.

[Mintali]

Some houses are already on sale

[Malaika254]

Greenpark looks beautiful, I love these kind of "controlled" developments.

[Statiq]

That's my hood!!! Damn I miss home. Plus they're building a new phase on the other side of the entrance with a bigger shopping centre/mall also planned.

[mwanamwiwa]

Originally Posted by Mintali

Some houses are already on sale

Its sold out.They are now selling phase two.

[ciceroji]