Praise Ville Gardens in terrace houses development for mid-income earners

By the summer of 2014, about 18 months from now, 52 families shall have got residential accommodation from Praise Ville Gardens Estate in Ogudu GRA Phase 11, in Lagos.

Construction has started in earnest on the estate after a moderate ground-breaking ceremony performed recently by its promoters and developers.

Robert Paulson, chief technical officer, Practical Habitat, the main contractor on the project, told journalists at the ground-breaking ceremony that they were employing what he called ‘Open Web Steel Joist’ technology to build the estate, saying they were using the technology to achieve both speed and quality, and also to reduce cost of production.

Benson Edward, owner and promoter of the project, said “Praise Ville Gardens is a four-phased estate with a combined 120 units of different house-types.” The first phase, on which construction has begun, he explained, sits on 77,090 square metres of land and will deliver 52 four-bedroom terrace houses.

Edward, who is the general overseer of Holy Fire Church, explained that his interest in real estate development was stemmed from his desire to add value to the community., saying “this place where I am located has been lying fallow for over 30 years. There is no development here. When I bought the church land, and I began to develop it, I realised that I could add value to the community here. “People usually build houses here for the purpose of selling them. We felt that, for the middle income earners, we could bring life into this environment.”

As a new settlement, he said, they were the one providing all the critical infrastructure including roads, drainage, street light, etc, adding that those who own properties here but have not been able to develop them were getting value added to such properties.

“We hope that in the next 12 months, when we must have done a lot of work here, more development will come because those who had abandoned their plots will be encouraged to develop them,” he hoped.

He disclosed that they have plans to go into low-income housing development around Trade Fair area on Lagos-Badagry Expressway where they will be building 350 housing units.

“By the time we are through with what we are doing here, we will be doing some houses in Lagos areas where we have identified and purchased land for the purpose of future developments, and we are looking at cheap houses for the low-income earners in those areas,” he said.

On the architecture and features of the estate, Benson noted that Praise Ville, estimated to cost N1.9 billion, is a perfect combination of luxury, convenience and location, offering rich amenities such as swimming pool, a club house and gym.

Others are 24-hour security service; independent power supply; dedicated transformer; management services; playing ground; mini mart/convenience store, and ample car parking space.

“Praise Ville Gardens forms part of the exciting new concept of lifestyle living inspired by the freedom of open spaces; the environment is dynamic with a perfect balance of nature and activities, making it an ideal location for a family,” he said.

A housing unit at the estate, he said, sells for N45 million, however there is mortgage facility being provided by First Bank of Nigeria that requires 20 percent equity contribution from buyers.