Paradise lost gets a new lease of life

Seven years ago, one would have been considered foolhardy for venturing into, let alone living near, the famous Paradise Lost, a park on Kiambu Road, which was surrounded by coffee farms and bushes.

However, since investors in the housing, education and sports sector realised its potential as an investment hub thanks to its proximity to Nairobi, the face of the area is undergoing dramatic change fast.

It now boasts multibillion-shilling gated communities, a high-end sports facility and an exclusive school.

Not surprisingly, land and property prices in the area have gone through the roof.

These developments have seen the area, which neighbours Thindigua and Kasarini, get a tarmac road and other fringe developments that have raised its status, now even attracting the upper and middle-class, which was previously unthinkable.

Among the high-end developments already on sale in the area are Runda Paradise and Kencom Sacco Homes, which comprise high-end maisonettes; several other projects are underway.

Runda Paradise, an estimated Sh1.7 billion project by Maha Property Ltd (MPL) that  sits on 25-acres, was so named because  to its proximity to the upmarket Runda Estate and Paradise Lost, a recreational facility.

The project comprises 150 maisonettes  and is popularly known as “small Runda” since its concept is  similar to its more grandiose neighbour.

Mr Norbert Mungai, the chief executive officer of Rock Assets, the project’s marketer, says the gated community, located about 10 kilometres from the Nairobi CBD offers an affordable lifestyle to the middle class in an upmarket area.  The units have been going for Sh25 million, but the developer placed a limited offer of Sh22 million. Mr Mungai says they have already sold 86 units.

The buyers who have completed paying for their houses have moved in, and Mr Mungai says the project will have a second phase comprising 80 units set on 15 acres while a third phase will see the developer put up a hotel.

The maisonettes have high-class finishing and are linked together by cabro  roads. The grass is manicured and at eventually, the estate will have a playground for children and a recreation centre, which will be created on a natural swamp located within.

The project is characterised by concrete block estate bays, landscaped gardens, self-contained guard houses, a perimeter and extra water storage facilities.

Mr Mungai says the design of the maisonettes incorporates aspects of post-modern architecture and modern living trends in Nairobi.

“The plinth area is 2,100 square feet and each bedroom has a toilet/shower, lounge, fitted kitchen and utility laundry yard and in-built wardrobes in the bedrooms. It’s just like other renowned, lavish estates the only difference is that it’s intended for the middle class,” Mungai says.

The ground floor has a large lounge with a fireplace and extra room that can be used as a guest room or as a home office, while the upper floor has three bedrooms, all en suite. The master bedroom is large and overlooks the two-car parking yard.

Mungai added, “The estate has similar phases to those other lavish and expensive estates but affordable to middle class Kenyans who have shunned the expensive estates such as Runda, where you cannot find anything less than 75 million,” he said.

Kencom Homes, which is owned by Kencom Sacco, whose majority shareholders are employees of the Kenya Commercial Bank is situated adjacent to Paradise Lost and comprises 113 high-end, four-bedroom units, some of which have already been occupied.The Sh2 billion project sitting on 20-acres was launched in August 2013 and funded by National Bank’s Musharaka Construction Mortgage in an arragement where the developer provided land while the bank funded the construction. They shared the profits at  negotiated ratios.

The units, which go for Sh37 million each, share a recreation centre. There is also a nursery school and business centre within the complex, which neighbours Runda Paradise.

Other housing projects within the area are a Sh2.3 billion project by Mhasibu Savings and Credit Society, which brings togeter  professional accountants; Runda Mumwe which is offering four-, two- and half-acre plots, Kasarini Runda, which is under  and Woodsman Villas.

Less than a kilometre from Runda Paradise and Kencom, Wadi Degla Investment, a consortium of Egyptian investors, has put up a Sh2.5 billion luxury sports and lifestyle facility known as the Wadi Degla club.

The facility, which sits on a 10-acre piece of land, will have shopping, leisure and health facilities such as restaurants, bars and lounges, food outlets, spas, saunas, gyms and a dancing school as well as business facilities  including conference and meeting halls,   and abusiness lounge.

The 12-year old concept, which has already proved successful in Egypt t and the Middle East, will also host world class football, squash, and tennis academies.

Other planned facilities are swimming pools, tennis and squash courts, football fields, and basketball, handball and volleyball courts.

Another notable project in the area is the high-cost Brookhouse School, which is just metres from the gated-community. The school will double its student capacity from the current 800.

The high-end school offers education from kindergarten to secondary school, and is also expected to boost the image of the area, whose development had lagged behind even as other areas of Kiambu registered considerable  growth.