The great Nyali-Vipingo exodus is on

About 10 years ago, when Pauline Kinyua moved to the Nyali neighbourhood of Mombasa with her family, it was the place to be.

Home to a quiet, serene atmosphere and guaranteed privacy, Nyali was the most attractive residential zone in Mombasa at the time, providing not only the cozy lifestyle of beach-front residences, but also a fast, jam-free dash to the central business district across the Nyali Bridge.

Then, the estate was a preserve of the moneyed, with constructions limited to mansions and bungalows set on spacious grounds with grass as green as envy can get.

That tranquility and cosiness, however, is no more. Nyali has been invaded by the capitalistic rapaciousness of modern man, and so today, Ms Kinyua has to contend with 24-hour noise from rickety tuk-tuks and matatus, and the cacophonic cling-clang of tools and machinery at a construction site near her home where an eight-storey apartment block is coming up.

The influx of people has led to insecurity, while social amenities have been stretched to the limit. Ms Kinyua’s Nyali is gone.
Forever.

“It’s crazy,” says the mother of two girls, one of them a 17-year-old Form Three student who, having witnessed the changes that have occurred in a decade, often relives nostalgic memories of the estate in its heyday.

“There is no more peace here. Where one used to come home and relax after a busy day, we have been assailed by this noise that seems to be increasing by the day.”

Like Nairobi, Mombasa is growing. But, unlike Nairobi, it has no space to expand near the CBD. The town is already congested, and so the town centre is moving to the outskirts, with Nyali estate as the most preferred destination.

Here, besides building apartments, developers have constructed office blocks and shopping malls, making it the fastest developing commercial centre in Mombasa.

According to property developers, the trend will continue as the market responds to consumer needs spawned by the need to move out of Mombasa island and the desire for business premises in a conducive environment.

This is even as experts warn that the state of environment in Nyali is wanting, and that urgent measures should be taken to turn its fortunes around.

“For instance,” says Mr Simon Nzeki, a National Environment Management Authority (Nema) lead expert, “there is no sewerage treatment infrastructure in Nyali and households rely on septic tanks. Since the pits are dug to ground water level, this results in contamination of shallow wells. The area also lacks a comprehensive zoning plan.”

Opting to sell homes

The scramble for property in the area has now elbowed out elite residents who are opting to sell their homes to the new developers as others are converted into holiday homes and apartments.

A three-bedroom apartment can fetch more than Sh20,000 a night, depending on the location and tourist season.

Mr Francis Thoya, the executive in charge of Lands, Housing and Planning at the Mombasa County government, says the pressure on Nyali estate to transform into a commercial centre is irresistible, but is quick to point out that plans for the constructions going on were approved by the former Mombasa Municipal council.

“Before we approve further developments we will first look into ways of improving infrastructure and other amenities because, as it stands now, roads are too narrow and there is no proper sewerage system. We also want to ensure there is adequate water,” he says.

Mr Thoya, who points out that residents have been reluctant to sell off their houses owing to sentimental attachment, notes: “For sure, there is no sense to keep one big house in a plot whose value is nearly Sh100 million.

“We need to appreciate that the area is no longer feasible as a residential estate, and that market forces are transforming it into the next Mombasa central business district, where developments must go skywards.”

But, even as the county draws plans to provide these amenities, the allure of the place as an exclusive residential estate is gone.

Ms Kinyua, just like many of her neighbours who have been caught in the dizzying light of high-rise buildings, is looking for a home elsewhere — and that “elsewhere” is northwards towards Vipingo, about 35 kilometres from Mombasa town.

As they pack and leave in a huff from the frenzy, developers are waiting for them with open arms, keen to cash in on their search for exclusivity. One of those is Mr Malusha Majani, the director of Vipingo Holiday Homes Ltd.

About 10 years ago, Mr Majani bought a piece of land just overlooking Vipingo Ridge, which he is now developing. His customers will come from far and wide, but he hopes to catch one or two Nyali emigrants.

“When I learnt that someone was putting up a golf estate here — Vipingo Ridge — I started buying land and consolidated the plots to about 200 acres, each going for Sh100,000 then.

“The place was so bushy then that some people warned me that I would lose my money,” he says, adding that at the time, very few had known about the planned golf course.

Then, a year ago, Mr Majani set off on a project that has practically transformed the area.

He started constructing four-bedroom houses with a view of moving disgruntled Mombasa and Kilifi residents to Vipingo. He has built houses in Nyali, he says, and so he knew the kind of lifestyles that attract the moneybags of the coast.

The effect of the affluence that all the new developments in Vipingo promised was an exodus that has come to be known at “The Great Nyali-Vipingo Migration”.

Ms Kinyua will soon be joining the migration. She has identified a house at the north coast, further away from the bustle of Mombasa, that is going for Sh35 million.

She hopes her four-bedroom unit in Nyali will fetch Sh70 million, leaving her with an extra Sh35 million to play around with.

It is an attractive option for many, and the results are showing. Where once stood pristine maisonettes and bungalows today stand flats that kiss the sky.

And more are coming up. Nyali is being auctioned, and the likes of Vipingo, a quiet neighbourhood past Mtwapa on the Mombasa-Malindi Road that has hitherto been famous for sisal estates rather than real estate, are the beneficiaries.

Mr Majani says it took a huge gamble to transform the place, but now he has no regrets. Since constructing such high-end properties in an area that had not been tested was not an attractive prospect to financiers, he opted to generate his own capital by selling some of the plots and pumping the money into the project.

By the time he is done with the first phase — where he has put up 10 four-bedroom units, and where he plans to put up 100 units in six years — he estimates the project will be worth about Sh3 billion.

Construction of the housing units has also raised the value of land in the area. Where a quarter of an acre was going for Sh500,000 about two years ago, today it is fetching up to Sh3 million.

The developer, however, admits that Vipingo Ridge, a golfing estate which markets luxury and is a preserve of the super-rich, is the model millionaires’ play area.

Big impact on prices

The development is set on a 2,500-acre piece of land, part of which was sub-divided into one- and two-acre plots and sold at between Sh15 million and Sh20 million an acre for phase one.

According to Mr Robert Ward, the golfing estate’s chief executive officer, the golf course has had a big impact on land prices in the area, which he says are expected to keep rising.

“We have embarked on phase two of the project where we have opened up 60 acres of land. Prices are relatively affordable, starting from Sh10 million for half of an acre,” he says.

Developers have, however, raised concern that the Kilifi County government has not clearly zoned areas meant for public institutions, and has not put in place necessary infrastructure to support the new estate.

But Mr John Mazuri, the Kilifi County executive in charge of Lands, Housing and Planning, however disagrees, saying the devolved government has recognised the developments going on in Vipingo, and explains that as they work on their master plan, they will factor in the evolving land use in the area.

“The estates started coming up even before the creation of the county,” he says. “We have no choice but to infuse them into our master plan and zone the area for high-end estates.”