Adams Arcade is among the most affordable but posh estates for middle-income earners in Nairobi County.
Besides having affordable rental charges, bus fare to Adams Arcade is also affordable, ranging between Ksh30- Ksh50. It is accessible as the middle-income estate is connected with matatus plying Ngong Road and even a train passing the Kibera route, which charges Ksh35.
Before Adams Arcade was fully adopted as the estate's name in 1968, it was known as 'Koronia', coined by matatu operators who struggled to pronounce colonial.
It was named after Abdul Habib Adam, a successful Arab businessman behind Reliance Motor Transport.
The estate was synonymous with white settlers and the British military. But over time, the UK soldiers took control of the vast area and set up a logistics depot.
However, as World conflicts scaled down, the British Military moved their operations to the Eastleigh area.
But their movement did not stop the sprout of Adams Arcade since European settlers embraced the area due to favourable conditions and investments.
An influx of European settlers in the area created a rising demand for middle-income housing units in Nairobi.
As housing demand peaked, Municipal European Housing Scheme, established in 1948 along Ngong Road, tightened its nose to prevent the influx from affecting Woodley Estate Scheme.
The protected Woodley Estate Scheme, named after Mayor Alderman F.G.R. Woodley, consisted of various housing units which were only reserved for a few elites. They included municipal officers, secretaries, and personal assistants.
Military Debt
Habib Adam transacted a great deal of business with the military, who were the land's original occupants. Before they moved out, they had sunk into heavy debt.
Mayor Woodley was then compelled to gift Habib the land to settle the debt.
With a clear expansion plan in mind, Habib turned Adams Arcade into a one-stop shopping area and became the first of its kind in the entire East African region.
The structure was designed in South Africa. The first structure to appear on the site was the Total petrol station in 1954.
"Habib negotiated with the Total oil company and got them to sign a contract where they were to build a petrol station on a portion of the land he had bought. He then financed the first phase of the shopping centre which was completed in 1959," Adams Arcade's website indicated.
"The first phase comprised of nine shops and nine three-bedroom flats with balconies. The first tenants were a bakery, a post office, a Deacons shop, a Bata shop, a green grocer's shop, a chemist, a Standard Chartered bank, and a butchery.
"The first tenants of the nine flats on the top floor were British Army soldiers and their wives. The shopping centre was named Adams Arcade," the website added.
The area continued to develop, attracting real estate investors who expanded the area to border Jamhuri Estate and Woodley Housing Scheme.
