By Wallace Mawire
| The Nairobi urban fabric will soon feature a new landmark with the development of a world-class medium density housing complex for the U.S. Department of State. The complex marks the first development in Kenya in a joint venture by Gateway Real Estate Africa (“Gateway Africa”) and Verdant Ventures, following a successful collaboration on a similar project in Ethiopia. Gateway Africa is a Mauritius-based private real estate development company specializing in the turnkey construction of accommodation for multinational corporations and retailers wishing to expand their operations on the African continent. Verdant Ventures is a US-based real estate development company focused on diplomatic housing in Africa. The landowner, Nebange Limited, will be a profit participant in the partnership. Greg Pearson, founding member and CEO of Gateway Africa, and Russ Murphy, CEO of Verdant Ventures released a joint statement, commenting: “We are particularly proud to have the US Government as a major tenant. This project further cements the relationship between Gateway Africa and Verdant Ventures following our successful collaboration in the past. Kenya represents an important base for us from which we can build into the rest of East Africa, and we are excited about the real estate prospects in Nairobi.” Aevitas Group, in collaboration with a local Kenyan architecture firm, Design Partnership Ltd, has been tasked to design this quality development. Construction is set to commence October 2020 and will create an estimated 1,100 direct and 500 indirect job opportunities. The completion date is earmarked for April 2022. “We will be making use of both local and international architects, mechanical and electrical consultants as well as civil and structural engineers. Services such as quantity surveying, project management, construction and other sub-contracting services will be sourced locally, as we have had success previously with local companies such as MaceYMR. Materials will be sourced locally as far as possible, with only specialist items being imported,” Pearson concluded. |
