The lead investor in the Ksh 6 billion Buxton Point affordable housing development, Suleiman Shahbal, has said the first 582 apartments will be ready for occupation in May this year. He was speaking during an inspection tour of the project.
Flanked by Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga and Project Chief Executive Ahmed Badawy, Mr Shahbal appealed to the government to come up with a plan to enable low-income residents to acquire the houses under a tenant-purchase scheme.
About 500 families who used to live in the Buxton estate houses that were demolished had been offered a chance to buy the new houses but many cannot afford.
Buxton Point is a 2000-unit housing development comprising studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments with prices ranging from Ksh 1.2 million to 4.7 million. It is a partnership between Mr Shahbal and the County Government of Mombasa.
The homes have a touch of luxury despite the pricing. They have been designed to offer “comfort and best value for money” according to the developer.
Besides the apartments, the development also contains facilities such as a community centre, kindergarten, social hall, sports courts, green areas, swimming pool, shops, food courts, public exercise equipment and walkways as well as children’s playing grounds.
The development initially met resistance with the Senate temporarily halting its execution following claims that the deal between the Mombasa County Government and the developer had not been transparent, and compensation issues for the evicted former residents of the site had not been fully addressed.
