Overcrowding and lack of adequate parking in Nairobi city centre are forcing people to look for alternative offices outside the CBD. A report by Mentor Management indicates that businesess are even willing to spend double the prevailing CBD office rates of Ksh80.3 per square foot to avoid the parking nightmare and unending traffic snarl-ups.
Taking advantage of this new trend is PDM Holdings, which has embarked on a plan to upset the apple cart by constructing a commercial Grade A office to meet upsurge in demand for the high-end offices. Vienna Court will cost PDM Holdings Ksh1.6 billion and is betting on the increasing number of multinationals targeting Nairobi as their Africa’s regional headquarters.
“Nairobi is growing daily and Kenya is becoming a regional economic powerhouse and its investment opportunities are growing rapidly,” notes Lengai Croze, lead architect at PDM Holdings. “We have seen a rise in demand for commercial offices in the capital, which is expected to rise further with the continued interest by foreign-based firms and investors to set up regional offices here.”
Located along State House Crescent and adjacent to Processional Way, Vienna Court is strategically positioned to ensure easy navigation to and from the city centre. It is for similar reasons that in recent years, multinationals have shown a preference for the new emerging zones such as Kilimani and most notably Upper Hill, which host a number of multinationals such as Coca-Cola, World Bank and World Health Organisation.
The development along State House Crescent has sparked off many economic benefits as well, such as employment creation for hundreds of skilled and semi-skilled local labourers involved in its construction and upon its completion, will benefit many others who will be employed in different capacities. Vienna Court is attuned to sustainable development and is currently seeking LEED accreditation with the US Green Building Council (USGBC), a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.
The building’s ultra-modern features which include rainwater harvesting, balconies for solar shading, solar control glass, and bicycle storage facilities with all office spaces having opportunities for passive ventilation, and access to highly efficient central air conditioning infrastructure, will play a key role towards ensuring a conducive working environment for its occupants through improved well-being.
“With Vienna Court, we have had the advantage of incorporating features that are of key concern to tenants, not only in terms of lowering the maintenance costs of buildings but by also making sure that the office space they take up facilitates productivity, both of which many developments may lack and are unable to introduce in due to limitations on space” said Croze Lengai.
Globally, there is a growing interest and demand for green buildings, with governments in the first world countries, such as the US and UK, offering grants and incentives including subsidies and tax breaks to organisations to woo them into incorporating green building measure. Locally, foreign investors have expressed preference for the buildings, creating a niche market with a gap to be filled.
PDM Holdings is the mother of buildings such as The Courtyard, Nation Centre and its pursuing other projects to don Nairobi’s skyline.
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