Westlands is increasingly becoming attractive to multinational companies and their leaders who desire to set shop in Kenya.
Knight Frank, a real estate company, in its Kenya Update Report, detailed that Westlands beat the predominant office estate - Upperhill, Mombasa Road and Kilimani.
In particular, the report noted that the company's Chief Executive Officers preferred bigger office spaces with top-notch facilities - which Westlands was offering.
The real estate company further indicated that the entrepreneurs preferred office spaces between 914 meters and 1,200 meters despite being more costly compared to other areas with the same spaces.
"Westlands remains the most sought-after office location. This is because it has the largest share of Grade A commercial office space compared to other competing nodes such as Upperhill, Kilimani and Mombasa Road
"In 2022, Grade A offices experienced increased demand from ICT-oriented enterprises as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and multinational corporations (MNCs). This is in tandem with Kenya Vision 2030 which aims to leverage technological developments," read the report in part.
Property developers in the commercial office industry were, therefore, advised to incorporate more spaces in their designs to attract multinational companies.
"Compared to other office sizes, tenants have registered a preference for office space with net lettable areas of between 3,001 square feet and 4,000 square feet," read the report in part.
On the other hand, key infrastructural developments such as roads in Westands made it attractive to investors as they could easily access their offices and other key facilities in the capital.
Some of the projects include the Nairobi Expressway which was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2022.
The projects aimed to reduce the duration taken by road users travelling to various destinations such as the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Mombasa Road given the traffic menace witnessed on other roads.
On the other hand, a number of retail shops opened their outlets in the estate, making it easier for the companies and employees to access key household and basic necessities.
"In H2 2022, the major malls to have opened in time for the festive season were Broadwalk, a mixed-use development along Ojijo Road in Westlands, and Greenwood Mall in Meru," read the report in part.
Apart from office spaces, Westlands also became lucrative for companies in the tourism sector with the JW Marriot hotel set to up at the Global Trade Center (GTC).
'Global luxurious hotel leader, JW Marriot, is expected to launch its iconic destination in Westlands, on the GTC in Q4 2023. GTC is by far the tallest skyscraper in East Africa and JW Marriot will complete the work, live, shop and recreate design concept of modern urban communities," the report noted.
