MOMBASA: Located 15 kilometres north of Mombasa town in Bamburi’s Utange area, Zola is a gated community comprising three-bedroom bungalows with ensuite master bedrooms and open kitchens.
Each bungalow is built on an eighth of an acre and is 1,100 square feet. The non-built space measures 3,900 square feet, which the owners can use for building other additional structures.
“A client can use the open space for a servant quarter and can construct structures for raring chicken, rabbit and goats,or make a kitchen garden for vegetables,” says Benedict Mutuku of Goldwyne Consult, the project marketers.
The project, being developed by Zola Homes, derives its name from a Zulu word meaning quiet. It is located in one of the less noisy but rapidly growing middle income estates in the coastal town of Mombasa.
According to property expert and contractor George Momanyi, Bamburi, Nyali and Shanzu have the highest property development rates in Mombasa. “Every small space and plot is being used for property development. And these areas are the most sought after because they are good and lie near the Indian Ocean,” says Momanyi, whose company Set and Fit Contractors has offices in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Target
Zola targets young professionals, first-time home buyers and young families. The construction begins this month (January) and will be completed in June.
The units are being sold off-plan for Sh5.5 million. On completion, each unit is expected to go for Sh7 million. Rent is expected to be Sh25,000 per month.
A total of 49 units built on about six acres will be on sale. All the units will be fully tiled and have fitted wardrobes.
Nyali resident Hamza Wakwabi is not aware of Zola Gardens, but says the suggested buying price is fair compared to other housing developments in the area. Wakwabi pays monthly rent of Sh30,000 for his two-bedroom bungalow.
“A three-bedroom bungalow costing less than Sh8 million with monthly rent of less than Sh30,000 is a real deal,” he says.
Momanyi agrees, saying: “I have been contracted to put up several properties in this area and current rental levels for two-bedroom and three-bedroom houses are Sh30,000 and Sh 45,000, respectively.”
He adds that two-bedroom and three-bedroom bungalows currently cost between Sh8 million and Sh10 million.
Zola will also have a commercial centre, kindergarten, jogging lane, gym, ample parking space and cabro-paved drive ways.
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It will also incorporate the latest design techniques that involve building houses without corridors but still maintaining privacy. It will have trees and lush greenery around every house, creating a serene and attractive setting.
Amenities
Amenities in the neighbourhood include supermarkets (like Nakumatt and Naivas), schools (like St Elizabeth and Anne academies), recreational spots (like Maasai Club), public schools, hospitals, churches and mosques.
Water will be provided by the county and four boreholes drilled to supplement it in case of a shortage in supply. The estate is enclosed with a perimeter wall and an electric fence. In addition, there are guards to patrol the whole estate and to man the gates. Every unit will be surrounded by a live fence.
Momanyi says provision of ample outdoor space is a marketing tool by the developer: “Property developers are in serious business and these tricks are helping them sell quickly and move on to other projects.”
He says buyers who construct houses on the extra free space feel a sense of ownership: “If you are a family person, you would want to construct houses for your grown up children slightly away from the main house so as to give them their own freedom.”
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