If there was ever an industry in Nairobi to bank on then it would be real estate and housing.
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 |
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| 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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| Foam from Nairobi Dam - our tourist attraction when it rains |
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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 |
Anyway troubles aside Seefar has beaten odds and it
has become the 12 story tower in our neighbourhood. The hardworking crew
work day and night. You can see in the short video below.
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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