Property spotlight: Phenomenal luxury in Lang’ata suburb

By Kevin Oguoko

Lang’ata area in Nairobi is increasingly becoming a much-sought-after by developers. Among the biggest projects there are housing developments by the National Housing Corporation.

The area is also set to welcome 1,000 units of apartment blocks, a project being developed through the partnership Regent Group and Five Star.

But perhaps none of these could dwarf Phenom Estate, a four-phase gated community offering luxurious living in Lang’ata on 32 acres.

Located behind Wilson Airport off the main Lang’ata Road, the first phase of the project includes 75 maisonettes, which were completed in March 2009. Phase two has a further 85 maisonettes. Both phases are fully sold out and occupied, with the first hand-over having taken place in April 2010. Construction of Phase three, comprising 95 maisonettes, commenced in July 2010 and is fully out.

Cheaper

“Lang’ata Road has always been overlooked by developers. Land here is comparatively cheaper than other suburbs in Nairobi such as Kileleshwa and Lavington. The prices will definitely shoot up after construction of the Southern By-pass, which will open up the area for more development, is finished,” says Nirish Shah, owner of Chigwell Holdings, developers of Phenom Estate.

He says most of their clients are senior executives working in professional fields including banking and insurance. “Amazingly, single working women make up more than 50 per cent of our clients,” says Nirish, who attributes this demographic statistic to the feminine touch to the interior and exterior outlook of Phenom. Interestingly, Phenom’s four phases all have different architectural designs, with a particular focus on the interior finishing of the house.

According to the executive director of Phenom Estate, Palkesh Shah, Phase four was designed according to their clients’ needs and research data collected over time, and not solely based on the architect’s preference. “We discovered that our clients are mostly young professionals who love open spaces and bright artistic finishing in their homes. We tailored this to the architectural design of Phase 4,” says Palkesh.

Laminated glass

The kitchen and living room come with open floor plans, allowing one to easily interact with a person working in the kitchen. The walls of the maisonettes are mostly covered with laminated glass, allowing in more natural light to enter the house and thus save on cost.

“Building a house with glass is expensive, about four times more expensive than building with stones. But with cropping up technology, it is increasingly becoming cheaper and popular,” says Palkesh.

Phase four of the project also comes in three split-level floors. A split-level home is a style of house in which the floor levels are staggered, so that the ‘main’ level of the house (say the level that usually contains the front entry) is halfway between the upper and lower floors, thus allowing one to view the third floor from the ground. Other interior finishes include the main door with steel veneer security door, internal doors with solid core pressed panel doors, staircase with single piece specially imported granite steppers. The wardrobes are also covered with scratch proof laminate.

To make proper use of space, there is a roof terrace on top of the building, allowing homeowners to hold extra activities such as barbeques on top of their building. Extra facilities include cabro-paved driveways and parking, landscaped garden, and a large recreational and community centre. There is also a boundary wall with electric fence, and one access gate to enhance security.

Estate management is major problem in most estates as homeowners are increasingly finding it hard to control activities like garbage collection and security with increased incidents of burglary and other crimes reported in previously regarded safe environments such as gated communities.

“We have a two-tier management system within Phenom with each cluster, consisting of 20-24 units, having its own gate and management,” says Palkesh.

He adds: “This ensures efficiency in each cluster on top of the general management and increases competition, understanding and sharing of knowledge in management of each cluster.” With increased interest in “extra value services” in many gated communities, Phenom provides a little more than the average social and recreational facilities.

The community centre for the estate, which is almost complete, includes a two-level multi-purpose hall with two gyms, swimming pools for adults and toddlers, a basketball and tennis court, and ample green recreational areas.

Phenom estate also hosts commercial shops and stalls. This is apart from other entertainment and services provided within the Langata area, which include Lang’ata Hyper, which hosts Uchumi, and the Carnivore Grounds.