Building affordable homes

A developer has opted to provide affordable housing in a near large scale approach, writes JECKONIA OTIENO

Affordable and decent housing is still one of the greatest challenges for many Kenyans especially those living in cities and towns.

Sunita Patel, Royal Group CEO

One of the most affected cities is Nairobi, which over a long time has seen the expansion of slums due to unprecedented population growth. Pundits have argued that the centralisation of services and industries was among the major causes of this upsurge in urban population due to rural-urban migration.

In line with these housing challenges that the country is facing, several developers have taken up the challenge to build affordable houses.

One developer has come up with a plan to try and alleviate the shortage by putting up affordable housing, a model that, if replicated and cascaded down, can ease the housing pressure considerably.

Royal Group, among other companies that are setting trends with their new model for housing the masses by using a unique approach which many developers may have overlooked.

In the expansive Mlolongo area stands the first of their investment of a model residential area which has made good use of space.

The first estate, 360 Court Apartments, rising up four floors, is set on the Embakasi plains. It is fully set and is a one-stop shop as a residential area. The housing estate, which is enclosed to form a community, has six blocks with three and two-bedroom units.

The developer has a vision to house every year between 5,000 and 6,000 people in its projects in Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa.

The drive is not just to offer buildings for people to live in but also to make the surrounding environment habitable, unlike what is seen in estates such as Mathare North, Kariobangi and Huruma where high-rise buildings stand back to back with poor planning because of the fragmented land ownership, which allows different developers to put up uncontrolled development in complete disregard of social amenities and organisation.

 Royal Group acquires massive land and plans a proper mass residence in it with quality services, which it then brings up for sale or rental. The tenant has an option of buying a unit.

Basic amenities  

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