Indian firm to build Sh12bn homes at Garden City in Nairobi
Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, the property development arm of Indian Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has entered the Kenyan market with plans to build a multi-billion shilling estate in Nairobi.
The Mi Vida Homes project at Nairobi’s Garden City Mall on Thika Road will be developed through a Sh12 billion fund established by Shapoorji Pallonji and its joint venture partner Actis.
The joint partners will develop some 624 apartments, which will be sold to prospective buyers for Sh6 million (one bedroom) and Sh9 million for a two-bedroom unit. A three-bedroom unit will be sold for Sh14 million.
The Mi Vida Homes project’s chief executive Chris Colson says the partners will next month open an experiential facility on-site to showcase the proposed homes to prospective buyers.
“This August will see us open customer sales and an experiential facility where showroom houses will be built. We want to avoid a scenario where buyers hardly know what they are buying,” Mr. Colson said on Wednesday.
Mi Vida (Spanish for ‘my life’) will be built in three phases. The first phase includes the construction of two blocks rising 13 floors with a total of 208 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The segment will be completed in 26 months at a cost of Sh6.5 billion. It will be funded by the developer.
“We are not relying on lenders or off-plan sales to raise money for project implementation but seek to stick to project timelines,” SPRE chief executive Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan said.
Ultimately, Mi Vida Homes will have a total of six 13-floor blocks sitting on 4.5-acres next to the Garden City Mall and the upcoming Garden City Business Park.
“We started off with a mall that has retail outlets, clinics, chemists, banks, eateries, and a fun park. This addition follows our purchase of a 15-acre plot where we and SPRE will build a total of 624 units on six 13-floor blocks,” Actis director Koome Gikunda said.