Phase II of the Sh6 billion Buxton Affordable Housing Project will entail 12 magnificent 16-storey towers, the contractor of the project has revealed.
The towers are expected to significantly change Mombasa’s skyline as they will add up to the already existing tallest buildings in the region.
The construction of Phase II will include 1,400 apartments ranging from 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms apartments with rooftop terraces and an elevator which will be installed to allow access to the high-tower buildings.
The project sits on a 14-acre prime land within Mombasa Island along Abdel Nasser Road overlooking the Indian Ocean.
It is less than 200 metres from the Nyali Bridge that connects Mombasa Island to the mainland and is a 20 minutes drive to the Moi International Airport, Mombasa.
“To contribute to the cascading effect of our project and spice up its outlook, Phase II will involve the construction of tall towers of up to 16 floors that will provide our clients with a fascinating sea view from their apartments,” said Ahmed Badawy, Buxton Point Chief Executive Officer.
“This is in a bid of adding flavour to the amazing lifestyle that we are creating at Buxton Point as we work towards the new face of Mombasa.”
Sale of Phase II of the project is expected to be launched later this month ahead of the completion of Phase 1.
Phase 1 of the project, which started in May last year, consists of districts A, B, C, and D which include 534 apartments of 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms.
The ongoing construction of phase 1 is 75 per cent complete and is expected to be completed by February next year.
“In Phase II, we will begin with four towers immediately after we are done with phase one. Phase II will take two years,” Badawy said.
He said they already have a waiting list of over 2,000 people who have directly registered their applications with them as more inquiries come in.
Another list of 300,000 potential clients, he said, have made their inquiries through Boma Yangu, a government portal that allows a person to own an affordable house.
He said Buxton Point is currently among the largest affordable housing projects in the country, aimed at giving Mombasa residents not just apartments but a modern lifestyle.
“This lifestyle will be achieved by our company through not only building modern affordable houses but also providing serene and secure homes with access to joint community facilities such as a community centre, kindergarten, social hall, sports courts, green areas, swimming pool, shops, food courts, public exercise equipment, walkways and more,” he said.
Once complete, the 12 towers will join the growing list of tall buildings in Mombasa that include the 16-floor TSS Tower, which is next to the 13-floor Ambalal House along Nkurumah Road.
Others are Cannon Towers 13 floors, Ganjoni Towers 16, Likoni Towers 16, Jaffery complex 20 and Kizingo Towers 22.
Last month, the Buxton project received the Gold Star Award from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Africa after achieving a mixed-use development model that is in recognition of the social amenities and facilities the project has incorporated.
The project survey and scoring were done by both the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) and ITDP Africa, a non-governmental organisation that is focused on providing technical expertise to accelerate the implementation of transport systems and urban development policies to improve inclusivity and resilience.
“The inclusion of the social amenities, the project connectivity time to town, the disability and elderly-friendly environment, its active amenable frontages and the project’s adherence to Crime Prevention through Environmental Design have made it possible for us to receive the award," Badawy said.
The project’s architect Yassir Brek received the award certificate on behalf of Buxton Housing Point during a conference themed ‘The Transit Oriented Development: Planning for Development and Social Inclusion’, held in Kigali city, Rwanda.
The project is being done through a partnership between GulfCap Real Estate and the County Government of Mombasa. It is part of the national government affordable housing agenda.
“At Buxton Point you are not just buying an apartment, you are investing in a lifestyle. Your family is entitled to a serene and secure home with access to joint community facilities,” Badawy said.
The Buxton project also sits opposite the proposed Sh5 billion Mzizima Housing Project that will have 1,780 units after completion.
The Mombasa county government is also planning to build 3,200 housing units in Likoni at a cost of Sh8 billion.
At least seven other municipal estates in Mombasa will be converted into modern estates. They include Changamwe, Khadija, Kaa Chonjo, Nyerere, Tudor, Tom Mboya and Kizingo estates.
Initial estimates indicate Changamwe estate will be rebuilt for Sh17.5 billion with all the 10 estates to be redeveloped in Mombasa expected to cost more than Sh50 billion.
While touring the project in February this year, Housing PS Charles Hinga reiterated the government’s commitment to providing quality affordable housing units to the millions of homeless Kenyans.
“Affordable housing is not synonymous to poor quality, instead it is more about high quality but at a pocket friendly price,” Hinga said.
The PS called on local developers to visit the project for benchmarking and replicate the same in the various projects being undertaken across the country.
“The benchmark has been set, we cannot go backwards. You can only improve on what we have seen here,” he said.
Some 565,000 affordable housing units across the country valued at Sh2.8 trillion have been registered to the National Construction Authority with about 225,000 receiving approval and are in various stages of implementation.
The National Treasury in April this year allocated the Affordable Housing Programme a budget of Sh27.2 billion.
Former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, in his budget proposals, said the government had also mobilised resources to support the construction of affordable housing units and social housing units.
At the beginning of his second term, former President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the Big Four agenda, which included the construction of some 500,000 affordable housing units by 2022.