UPDC in bullish entry into 2014 with ambitious projects in five cities

In a clear demonstration of its dominance and leadership of the Nigerian real estate market, the UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) plc has made what market watchers describe as a ‘bullish entry’ into the New Year with six ambitious projects in five cities of Nigeria.

The projects, fondly called ‘A Tale of Five Cities’ by the company, are as in the nature of UPDC, in the luxury and premium segments of the property market and are to be located in the upscale areas of Abuja, Lagos, Asaba, Calabar and Ibadan.

A very significant aspect of this ‘Tale of Five Cities’ is that it marks a historic shift from UPDC’s traditional Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt locations to other cities where considerations were driven by demographics, market potential, availability of critical infrastructure, and urban renewal.

At a press conference to unveil these projects, Hakeem Oguniran, the company’s managing director, enthused that part of their reasons for this in the New Year was to create excitement in the property market.

“This is an election year, which is a period of uncertainty, and when you have such a period, it is always an unfavourable one for investment in real estate. But for us as a business, we need to create some excitement in the market, unlike what every other person is doing, withholding investment,” he said.

Continuing, he disclosed that “we did a lot of research and analysis of the Nigerian market and we came up with a conclusion in which we classified the market into A, B and C. We were guided in our research by population and population mix, market potential, infrastructure development, urban renewal, etc.”

He recalled that they had always done projects development in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, but because of the potential they saw in the other cities researched, “we think that very soon, we will begin to see those things that appeal to the customers which is why we are coming up with six projects – two in Lagos, one in Abuja, one in Ibadan, one in Asaba and one in Calabar.”

The two projects in Lagos are The Residences in Festac Town, and James Pinnock Place in Lekki. In Abuja is Pinnacle Estate; Ibadan has Olive Court in Agodi GRA; Asaba has Pineville Estate in the GRA, while Calabar harbours the Golf Estate.

The Residences is a mixed real estate development that will offer comfortable and best-in-class residential, commercial and retail accommodation consisting of three wings on eight floors. Wing 1 comprises 88 units of one-bedroom apartments suitable for short stay accommodation; wing 2 has offices on 5,820 square metres of gross land area (GLA) while Wing 3 consists of 68 units of one-bedroom and two-bedroom residential apartments. Complimentary on-site facilities include the Festival Mall with over 10,000 square metre GLA and Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac with over 400 rooms.

James Pinnock Place is the Phase 3 of a residential estate covering about three hectares of land within Pinnock Beach Estate in Lekki. A 79-unit estate, Pinnock will comprise 11 units of five-bedroom detached houses, 36 units of four-bedroom semi-detached houses, 32 units of three-bedroom flats.

Olive Court, a joint venture project between UPDC and Oyo State government, is located on 2.04 hectares of land in the prime area of Agodi GRA. It is 50-unit residential housing estate nine units of five bedroom detached houses; 22 units of four-bedroom semi-detached houses and 19 units of four-bedroom terraces.

Pineville, a 20-unit estate, sits on 8,513 square metres of land. The 20 housing units comprise four units of five-bedroom detached houses; 16 units of four-bedroom semi-detached houses and will be completed in 12 months.

The 170-unit Golf Estate Calabar is a joint venture project with Cross River State government and according to Oguniran, it is going to be natural extension of the state’s high ambition to create a truly unique destination in Nigeria. The estate is a new proposition for modern living in Nigeria, benefiting from the natural security and beauty of the state. It comprises 38 units of five-bedroom duplexes; 39 units of five-bedroom detached houses; 10 units of four-bedroom semi-detached houses; 42 units of five-bedroom bungalows; 33 units of four-bedroom bungalows, and eight units of three bedroom bungalows.

Each of the estates come with state-of-the-art facilities including swimming pool, gymnasium and children’s playground. Other facilities are sewage treatment plant; bore-hole water treatment plant; fire alarm system; burglar alarm system; PHCN and standby generator; ample parking space for residents and visitors.

By: Chuka Uroko