The rise of Nakuru’s Workers Estate

Kenya: Nakuru’s Workers Estate is slowly shedding the bad image historically associated with it as real estate investors move in to develop the area.

Located about five kilometres from Nakuru town on the Nakuru-Nyahururu road, the estate is seeing the emergence of high-end rental houses and homes. There are even gated community estates and palatial homes coming up.

The estate currently boasts modern residential houses equipped with TV cables; razor  wire fences, conference halls and CCTV cameras.

James Gitau, the developer of Workers Executive Shelter, says that initially, the estate was full of lush green vegetation when teachers working in Nakuru decided to purchase the land.

They later subdivided the land into smaller plots as demand for building space in Nakuru grew. Gitau notes that with the growth of the estate, old-fashioned houses have been demolished to pave way for modern rental houses.

Growth

“No one would have been interested in investing in this place ten years ago, but with the growth of Nakuru and its suburbs, the estate has opened up for development,” he says.

Gitau, whose rental houses are among those fitted with security cameras, razor wire and TV cables, says investing in such facilities was a good decision.

A spacious one bed-room house with piped water is going for Sh8,000 while a bed-sitter goes for between Sh5,000 and Sh6,000.

The growth of the estate has been attributed to its close proximity to Nakuru town’s Central Business District (CBD).

The real estate boom has benefited hotels in the area such as Kunste, Club Five and Vineyard. The estate’s proximity to key learning institutions like Nakuru Boys High School, Loreto Nakuru Secondary School, Nakuru Girls High School and the Kenya Industrial Training Institute is also a plus.

The presence of shopping malls in the southern part of the estate, infrastructural development and employment opportunities are key indicators that even the commercial developments have gained ground in the estate.

Joseph Muchiri, a resident who has seen the estate grow, says that the demand for rental units has shot up by 100 per cent in the last few years.

Muchiri notes that the estate is beginning to compete with other old estates like Mawanga, which it borders to the western side.

 

Modern designs

He adds that competition among developers has impacted positively on the real estate growth in the estate as every developer tries to outdo the others.

“We have seen tremendous improvement in terms of design and finishing as developers try to attract tenants,” he says.

Muchiri says availability of construction materials such as quarry stones within the estate has also spurred real estate development there since it lowers construction costs.

The provision of street lights by the county government has boosted security in the area. Dan Kimani, a landlord in the area, says that initially, no one would freely walk within the estate due to insecurity, but that changed when security lights were installed.However, the estate still has a number of challenges, including dusty untarmacked roads.