By Ferdinand Mwongela

The phrase live like royalty might seem out of place. Especially when placed the place in question is Syokimau.

The perception many have of Syokimau, those who haven’t been here that is and only rely on news report, is a desolate place. The area’s most famous pictures are of bulldozers bringing down multi-million projects last year, or at a time like this when rains are coming down with a vengeance and sections of the area resembles a dam in the making.

But this is a skewed picture of the area that is one of the fastest growing around Nairobi.

The areas around the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and along Mombasa Road and the Eastern Bypass, namely Syokimau, Mlolongo, Athi River, Utawala, Ruai and even Kitengela have been witnessing an unprecedented boom in construction.

This is mostly driven by cost issues as well as the developing infrastructure and movement of companies towards Mombasa Road, leading to increasing demand for residential houses in the area.

A few years ago, the area was a darling of individual developers seeking for affordable land and a quiet place to raise their families. As it is wont to happen, developers have caught on fast, and huge developments are flocking to this area despite its woefully underdeveloped infrastructure.

Developments

Some of the biggest developments — ongoing and proposed — in this general era include Suraya Property Group’s Sucasa with its starter homes concept, Green Park development and 360 degree apartments among others. Tamarind Properties was one of the fits developers to focus on Mavoko as a development destination.

Now there is a new kid on the block, aptly named Athi View, which pursues the concept of living like royalty, right on the boundary of Nairobi and Mavoko, on the Mavoko side.

Athi View takes a different approach, with the bulk of the housing on the project’s first phase being made up of maisonettes. Many developments around this area have focused on apartment blocks as the key fixture with a few token maisonettes. 

Athi View’s Phase One, built on 7.5 acres will have 90 maisonettes, with the price starting at Sh9.5 million. There will also be 15 apartments of three and two-bedroom units. The apartments go for between Sh5.5 million and Sh6.8 million.

When Home and Away visited the site, construction was already well under way with the developers promising completion next month.

Infrastructure

The absence of key infrastructure like sewerage service in the area is glaring, and developers have to come up with their own solutions. Athi View, for instance, will set up their own sewerage treatment plant, this despite the project being merely a kilometre from Mombasa Road.

However, other facilities stand this area in good stead. Houses around the area are still mostly residential, with the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport a stone’s throw away, the Syokimau Railway Station also barely two kilometres away, on Mombasa Road.

The movement of people towards this area has also sparked interest in companies with a supermarket coming up as well as a luxury hotel.