How Eko Atlantic City, New Plan Drive Devt Boom In Victoria Island

Increasingly, Eko Atlantic City along with Lagos State government’s new Revised Model City Plan for Ikoyi – Victoria Island Model City Plan spanning 2013 – 2033 is driving new development boom in Victoria Island. The island is an 800,000 square metres commercial hub in Lagos.

The development boom is quietly regenerating and improving the skyline of the area, especially along Ahmmedu Bello Way, Oluwole Street, Saka Tinubu and Akin Adesola.

Besides investment motives, Eko Atlantic City development is aimed to protect the shoreline of Atlantic Ocean and Victoria Island from the seasonal ocean surge and flooding which nearly swept away all the areas within about 100 metres radius of the shoreline.

Eko Atlantic is a new coastal city emerging on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to Victoria Island, Lagos. The city is also meant to solve real estate shortage in Lagos and serves as the focal point for investors capitalizing on rich development growth based on massive demand.

Before now, Victoria Island had not been experiencing project boom befitting its status as the commercial capital of Lagos. A recent survey by Estate Intel, an online real estate research firm, which sampled 150 major projects delivered over the past 20 years, shows that only 12 percent of these projects were delivered in the South West area of Victoria Island.

The survey shows further that contrary to what obtains in that part, Core and North Western part of VI accounted for over 61.5 percent respectively.

Recently, however, Estate Intel notes that the story has been changing such that, in the past 12 months, new completions and development starts are giving South West VI a fresh chance for greater relevance within the commercial capital.

This could be attributed to the rising profile of Eko Atlantic City which has continued to receive both foreign and local investment interest. The city, described as one of its kind in Africa, holds promise for both residential and commercial opportunities.

Expectation is that residents and businesses within Victoria Island will benefit from the opportunities which the city offers, more so for all the businesses along the Ahmedu Bello Way and other adjoining streets like Akin Adesola, Oluwole, Adetokunbo Ademola, etc.

Record shows that Victoria Island had an existing use with a mix of residential, institutional and commercial allocations. It shows further that government’s vision for the region was residential.

But all that have changed with the revised plan which shows that most of what is planned within this region is now a combination of ‘High Residential’, ‘Medium Residential Districts’ and ‘Mixed-Use Districts’.

“More importantly, due to the introduction of Eko Atlantic, the physical characteristics of the area have changed. These new introductions have made room for new property investors to proceed with more aggressive development activity,” Dolapo Omidire, Estate Intel’s CEO, explained to BusinessDay.

Omidire recalled that, since early 2000s, most of the use in the region included State Liaison Offices, Governors’ Lodges and a number of old and corporate occupied residential properties, pointing out that, for the most part, State Liaison Offices and governors’ lodges were derelict and unused.

“Up until recently, we had seen minimal activity from the governors’ lodges and state liaison offices. However recent disposals and leases show that this semi-regional landlord category is willing to do business with potential developers in need of land to execute,” he noted.

As it is today, many of these abandoned and wasting properties have been acquired for redevelopment or construction of entirely new facilities. Paelon Hospital, for instance, acquired and extended an old Liaison Office House in 2017. It is now home to a large hospital with a Gross Built Area of over 1,100 square metres.

Recently, La Roche and other businesses occupied the Kogi State Liaison Office on Bishop Oluwole Street, using it as a showroom for the fixtures and fittings they sell.

Recently, Rotimi Akeredolu, the Ondo State governor, was in Lagos to break ground for the construction of 7-floor twin office buildings to be called Sunshine Plaza. The development is being promoted by the state government’s Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA).

The project is a joint venture between ONDIPA and Prestige Homes to develop the property with entry access on Bishop Oluwole Street and Ahmedu Bello Way.

The Benue State Liaison office was also partially converted to a hotel that is now under the management of Presken Hotel & Resorts.

Within this region, there are many newly completed and on-going projects including 1049 Abagbon Close located on Abagbon Close. It is an office facility developed by Primegate Properties.

Aerobell Towers is another new development located on Bishop Oluwole Street . It is also an office building being developed by Aerobell Properties Limited. It will be completed in 2023.

Victoria Island Trade Centre is on Saka Tinubu Street. It is a mixed use development being promoted by Clayring Services. It is planned to be completed in 2023, but it is currently on hold.