…MTN, FirstBank, American Embassy, others take position
Eko Atlantic has become Nigeria’s most sought-after city for its high-end infrastructure, prestige and well-planned city layout as reflected in an eight-lane boulevard, about 13 internal bridges, underground cables and green footprints defined by over 30,000 trees.
Additionally, having a building in the city has become a fad among the ‘big boys,’ as was the case with Old Ikoyi, Victoria Garden City (VGC), Osborne Foreshore, and now Banana Island.
“It has become ‘I belong’ and prestige mentality among the big firms,” Adeniyi Fowowe, an estate developer, noted.
Before now, Kingsway and Ozumba Mbadiwe Street in Victoria Island were the go-to locations for high-rise office buildings. These locations are homes to iconic developments such as Kingsway Towers, Heritage Place, Fanfa Towers, The Wings, The Waves, among others, making them Nigeria’s equivalent of Silicon Valley.
The Eko Atlantic City is modelled after the Skyscraper District of Manhattan Island in New York City. It has become the new destination for big-ticket corporate firms, which are building or relocating their headquarters to the 10-square-kilometre city rising off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos.
The city is attracting investment interests in both residential and commercial real estate, the latest being MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest mobile network operator, which is there to build its new headquarters.
MTN is coming on the heels of FirstBank which recently, at an elaborate event that attracted who-is-who in Nigeria, turned the sod to build a 40-floor corporate head office, making it the city’s most iconic development so far.
Prior to this ambitious entry into the city by MTN and FirstBank, Dangote Group and the United States Embassy had taken positions there, developing a new head office and a new diplomatic facility respectively.
Much earlier, Eko Development Company had occupied the city as the developer of the Azuri Towers, offering both residential and commercial facilities for high-end clients and corporate bodies.
Arkland Property Investment and Oak Homes are also in the city developing A & A Towers and Oak Towers respectively. These are residential developments that will be standing on 22 floors and 33 floors respectively.
Other developments are: the Pan Atlantis Towers by Periwinkle Residences, Eko Pearl (Champagne Tower) and Eko Pearl (Black Tower) by Elias Saad Leading Association (ESLA), Amni Towers by Amni International Petroleum Development Company, and Louisville by Total Energy Staff Co-operative and Multi-purpose Society.
Louisville will comprise 300 residential homes spread between two towers, a world-class sporting centre and a club, retail outlets, and other facilities. It is designed to employ modern technology to achieve smart living and high standards in the area of energy efficiency and environmental conservation.
“Eko Atlantic is an exclusive luxury city with superior infrastructure that appeals to the kind of investors we have seen in the city so far. It is not planned for mass housing, which is for everybody,” Erejuwa Gbadebo, managing director, Eko Development, explained.
Gbadebo, who spoke at the BusinessDay annual Property Investment Conference (PRINVEST) in Lagos last Friday, noted that the city is intentional with its infrastructure development with full carbon footprint and LEAD certification.
Eko Atlantic City was launched in 2008 with land reclamation starting the same year and submerging what used to be known as Bar Beach -an enclave for fun-seekers. The city is located next to Victoria Island, Lagos’ main business district, and aims to become the city’s most advanced commercial hub.
It expected that the city will be home to no fewer than 500,000 residents, with commuter volume expected to exceed 300,000 people daily.
Gbadebo noted that the city’s modern infrastructure and strategic location are the major attractions for corporations, real estate investors and high-profile organisations looking for a well-planned business environment.
Land price
Though land price in the city remains a guarded secret to its promoters, it first came into the property market at $1,250 per square metre which, according to a realtor who did not want to be named, was about 40 percent pricier than what obtained in its immediate neighbourhood, including Banana Island—an exclusive, well- planned residential environment in Lagos.
Experts bet on the exorbitant land price in Eko Atlantic, usually denominated in US dollars. They say that its land price compares favourably with land values in Manhattan City in the United States.
NeighborhoodX, a real estate price tracking agent, says Manhattan real estate costs an average of $1,773 per square foot, which is also ahead of San Francisco, the next most expensive area on per-square-foot basis, revealing that land price in San Francisco averages $902 per square foot. (BusinessDay)
