The commercial real estate market in Nigeria, increasingly, continues to see phenomenal growth with investment portfolio in retail and office space veering off conservative market year-on-year projections and expectations.
Victoria Island, the buzzing business and financial hub in Lagos, has in recent time become one huge construction site with construction cranes perpetually rising and falling, delivering in the process office towers reaching for the sky in height, design and structural elegance.
Among these towers is The Wings, a twin-tower office complex rising 15 floors touted to be Nigeria’s first Grade- A office building that will be offering approximately 27,000 square metres of lettable office spaces with international specifications and standards.
This project sponsored by RMB Westport, Standard Bank Group, and Oando Plc and estimated to cost US$182 million on completion presents a new proposition in office space development in Nigeria being one of the only two LEED-compliant green office buildings in Nigeria today.
“What is green about this building is its energy efficiency. Service charge here may be lower than other buildings around it and this will be mainly because diesel consumption will be less because of the insulation of the building”, Gbenga Olaniyan, the CEO, Estate Links Limited, told BusinessDay at the project’s launch event in Lagos recently.
Olaniyan who disclosed that his company, along with JLL, is the leasing agent for the office complex, noted that, in real estate, location is everything, explaining that because of its strategic location on Ozumba Mbadiwe in Victoria Island, The Wings enjoys a lot of strategic advantages.
“ If you are talking about waterways, we have got that here too. If somebody is talking about flexibility of movement, he will first consider Ozumba Mbadiwe before a place like Eko Atlantic on Ahmed Bellow Way. So, The Wings has more location advantages”, he stressed.
Michael O’ Malley, a director at RMB Westport also told BusinessDay at the event that construction was upbeat at site and was still within budget, pointing out that “as a core property development firm, our specialty has always been property development and we remain committed to delivering superior products such as The Wings, where we will be offering something which, we believe, is special and has never been seen in the market”.
O’ Malley assured that, on delivery, the complex would provide clients with 21st century state-of-the-art facilities that will enhance the use of space in an innovative way, giving them an optimal day-to-day functionality, whilst retaining attention to detail, comfort and service that reflect business standards.
Some of the amenities expected at the complex include an exclusive entry and exit routes that will make access into the building convenient and elegant; it will offer a fine dining venue to ensure that both occupants and clients are well catered for as they go about their daily engagements. The complex promises convenient parking on a 700-bay podium beneath the towers, offering a ratio of 3 bays per 100 square meter of lettable area considered a first in Nigeria.
Ayodele Olajiga, Head, Coverage at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Nigeria, says the project represents what RMB would like to do in Nigeria’s property scene, adding, “we have always wanted to be associated with landmark projects such as Ikeja City Mall; so we expect this to be another fantastic project and we are looking forward to do a lot more with RMB Westport”.
At $1,000 per square metre, Olaniyan said the rent is not only conservative but also industry competitive, explaining that “when you look at the quality of the project and the kind of people behind it, you can simply go to sleep; and another selling point for this building is that you can pay quarterly rent which is the first of its kind in the industry”.
CHUKA UROKO & ODINAKA MBONU
