Indian Firm to Build Sh6.5bn Mi Vida Homes in Nairobi

Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, the property development arm of the Indian Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has entered Kenya with plans to build a multi-billion shilling estate in Nairobi.

The Mi Vida Homes project at Nairobi’s Garden City Mall on Thika Road will be developed through a Sh12 billion fund established by Shapoorji Pallonji and its partner Actis.

The joint partners will develop some 624 apartments, which will be sold to prospective buyers for Sh6 million (one bedroom) and Sh9 million for a two-bedroom unit. A three-bedroom unit will be sold for Sh14 million.

The Mi Vida Homes project’s chief executive Chris Colson says the partners will next month open an experiential facility on-site to showcase the proposed homes to prospective buyers.

“This August will see us open a customer sales and experiential facility where showroom houses will be built. We want to avoid a scenario where buyers hardly know what they are buying,” Mr Colson said on Wednesday.

Mi Vida (Spanish for ‘my life’) will be built in three phases. The first phase includes the construction of two blocks rising 13 floors with a total of 208 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The segment will be completed in 26 months. It will be funded by the developer.

“We are not relying on lenders or off-plan sales to raise money for project implementation but seek to stick to project timelines,” SPRE chief executive Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan said.

Ultimately, Mi Vida Homes will have a total of three 13-floor blocks sitting on 4.5 acres next to the Garden City Mall and the upcoming Garden City Business Park.

“We started with a mall that has retail outlets, clinics, chemists, banks, eateries, and a fun park. This addition follows our purchase of a 15-acre plot where we and SPRE will build a total of 624 units on six 13-floor blocks,” Actis director Koome Gikunda said.

Mr Gopalkrishnan had earlier said that SPRE was delighted to partner with Actis in the African residential market, adding that both companies had delivered thousands of high-quality, aspirational homes at affordable prices in India.

Actis is the developer of Garden City Mall, a mixed-use development that features retail, residential, and office space.

The private equity firm is currently building a Sh54 billion business park adjacent to Garden City Mall. The facility offers 25,000 square metres of office space, a healthcare facility, two hotels and more than 400 mid-market homes.

RELATED: Rich Kenyans Snap Up Sh46m Garden City Villas in Nairobi

The entry of Shapoorji Pallonji into the local real estate scene comes at a time when several global investors are expressing their desires to take part in a State-backed affordable housing scheme that seeks to deliver up to a million low-cost houses across the country.

The government, which will provide parcels of land to developers who will then prepare the site and architectural plans for the identified projects, is fronting the use of precast wall panels and pillars as a means to expedite the project.

Although the terms of funding are yet to be made public, it is believed that Kenya has handed out generous incentives to lure some of the world’s top financiers into the scheme.

Join 15,000+ pros getting our weekly digest of news and insights.