Buildings in the Nairobi Central Business District in Nairobi. [File, Standard]
It’s fast becoming fashionable to avoid Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD).
Individuals, corporates, multinationals, top hotels and even some government agencies are happy to exit the CBD which is now chaotic and bursting at the seams.
“African CBDs tend to decay,” noted Knight Frank Kenya managing director Ben Woodhams.
He observes that factors such as perceived insecurity, traffic congestion, parking challenges and inaccessibility have led to the migration from the CBD.
“A lot of these towers (city buildings) were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Then, only CEOs would drive to work. That has since changed and now even their secretaries drive to work,” said Woodhams.
Emergence of Westlands, Upperhill
These are some of the reasons which led to the emergence of Upperhill and Westlands as prime office nodes.
However, Westlands has become more popular with high-end corporates, especially multinationals.
“You only needed to have a traffic jam on Ngong Road and Uhuru Highway and you couldn’t get in and out of Upperhill whereas, in Westlands, it didn’t matter where the traffic was as it porous and there are many ways to access it,” he said.
Woodhams also adds that if on an office in Waiyaki way one can market it on a billboard and its easily visible to many which is an added advantage.
However, he notes that the new infrastructure in Upperhill on account of the…
