Everyone is chasing the dream of "get a beautiful house and settle down".
Chasing dreams ain't bad. I am also now trying to get excited about good and normal things that everyone else is excited about. But anyway this article is not about me.
This article is about how much do you research the place you will get your "dream home" or at least your "dream rental".
Last year a small block of flats was completed just after Blue Sky estate on Mbagathi Way. It used to be a laugh for everyone who passed by because the ground floor of the flats kept caving in. But we aren't laughing anymore. The three story flats are complete and have tenants... and somehow I think the developer wants to proceed as he hasn't put a roof.
SEEFAR
The apartments in my title are much the opposite of the above flats - they are professionally built and have taken tremendous efforts to get to 12th floor - but I still have questions and unanswered issues.
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| SEEFAR APARTMENTS ADVERT | they are professionally built and have taken tremendous effort to get to 12th floor |
I wish my friend Joab S. Kola aka Jobby had been elected as the representative for Nyayo Highrise then I would just send him to ask the questions for me. But he wasn't...
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| Highrise flats are three four storeys at best. Seefar has towered to twelve storeys currently |
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| Seefar apartments stand in between H Block and the Dam |
Seefar apartments are built at the end of H-Blocks of Nyayo Highrise. These H blocks are in a valley bordered by the Nairobi Dam on one side. Seefar just took the heat off us. They built right next to the dam. This was not a very easy task. Three landslides, two times a collapsed foundation, costly control of the dam waters (wah!! si the mosquitoes had a ball when the dam was blocked - they really fed on us).
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View to die for?
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| Nyayo Highrise at Sunrise above and a rainy morning right |  |
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| Same area when it rains - notice the white foam swelling above the fence |
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| Beautiful Sunrise in Highrise |
So then what issues do I have with a construction of beautiful apartments like Seefar - which are really evidence of what man can do in overcoming obstacles and in the efforts of making a living.
ISSUE NO 1 - NEMA
The Erdemann Properties quote a number 00008382 as the NEMA number to show that the environmental watchdog evaluated and approved that the construction of a 12 storey highrise building a stone's throw from the dam and that it did not constitute an adverse impact to the environment.
I do not know what an EIA contains but in my layman's assessment - if you have woken up to the scenes in my pictures above and you know how Nairobi dam comes alive when it rains you would never advise anyone to build that close to the dam. Secondly NEMA or no NEMA I saw the crew struggle with two or was it three landslides. The land rebelled hurled gabbions twice down the embankment and covered the foundations twice before man mastered the land... or did he? Thirdly even if all the above are settled - any resident of these blocks should know they have just signed up to be part of mosquito menu.
ISSUE NO 2 - DAMAGES
Highrise roads are now one eyesore pothole due to the heavy machinery that had the estate as the only access to the flats. I hope the owners have thought about doing repairs when the houses are complete.
ISSUE NO 3 - WATER
Highrise has an acute shortage of water - it has enough trouble getting to third floor. I hope SEEFAR truly have boreholes unstable or stable ground notwithstanding. I can't imagine someone in 12th floor lacking piped water.
If Erdemann can answer these few question then they can complete their housing unit with my full blessings and well wishes
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