One of the best commercial avenue roads in Nigeria where big multinational companies are situated now is the popular Kingsway in Ikoyi, Lagos. The street was recently renamed after a late businessman who was murdered during the NADECO days, Chief Alfred Rewane.
Alfred Rewane now has become one of the most popular roads in Ikoyi for many reasons.
It has become the nation’s opulent real estate capital, housing iconic offices and commercial facilities.
The street is located in the heart of Ikoyi, the home of Nigeria’s billionaires like Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Oba Otudeko, Tony Elumelu, Folorunsho Alakija, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, and many others.
These billionaires now compete with themselves by building corporate headquarters on this road.
This popular street has also become attractive to a great number of well-off customers from all over the world, particularly software, social media and Information Comunications Technology (ICT) companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook who are the current leaders of the global inflow.
The rush for presence on the highbrow street, is also being fuelled by the unrest in the Niger Delta, with several oil companies moving their offices and expatriate staff to Ikoyi.
This road is the gate way to Victoria Island and Lekki. It is the most centralised location in the whole of Lagos for big businesses.
Below are some of the iconic offices and special buildings on this popular road, Alfred Rewane Way.
HERITAGE PLACE
Located on the intersection between Alfred Rewane Way and Luggard Avenue in Ikoyi, Heritage Place is Nigeria’s first green office building.
A noticeable edifice to passers by, the ultra modern, eco-friendly building is owned by Actis, a leading investor in growth markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Completed on February 15, 2016, the tower is a 14-story office building built on approximately 15,736sqm of office space and 350 parking lots. Other features include a double volume reception, raised floors, a cafe and coffee shop, suspended ceilings, a plaza as well as flexible floor plate sizes from 450sqm up to 2,000sqm.
The facility is a fortress owing to its digitalised registration for all guests, including a face-capture system that helps the building to be fully aware of every occupant.
Owing to its location and standout features, the facility currently has a tenancy rate of 93%, compared to tenancy rates of between 30 and 35 percent in other facilities in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki.
Some of its tenants include American computer technology corporation, Oracle, Actis, Andersen Tax, Verod Capital and Visa.
Occupiers can rely fully on the managed services provided that focuses on health and safety, and security that have been factored in the development and conception of the office building, assured Funke Okubadejo, a director at Actis.
BAT RISING SUN
Owned by tobacco giant, British American Tobacco (BAT), the Rising Sun is situated on Alfred Rewane Way, spreading over 4,056 square metres.
The edifice, a mixed (office and residential) project, boasts of first-class technology that guarantees optimum comfort for staff and tenants.
The tower, an 11-storey edifice which occupies 6,000 square metres, accommodates staff offices, conference rooms and meeting rooms, while a section of it serves as residential apartments accessible from a different entry point. Made up of several 3-bedroom apartments and 4-bedroom penthouse, the apartments are tastefully finished.
Security is also taken serious by the managers of the building, with close circuit cameras strategically mounted at every corner.
All entrances have swipe card door control system. A visitor is required to produce a card to enter every space in the building which he or she must swipe against the card reader on doors before they can give access. Also, card access is required to gain access to the elevators.
This is the West Africa office and Nigeria was selected because of the partnership they have enjoyed in this country over the years. A lot of attention was paid to constructing this building. It is a commitment from BATN that we are here to stay, said Mrs. Seyi Ashade, the Area Head, Corporate Affairs, West Africa region of BATN.
KING’S TOWERS
Another iconic building on the popular Alfred Rewane Way is the King’s Tower (formerly Kingsway Tower).
The 15-storey mixed-use building developed by Sky View Towers was designed by South African architects, SAOTA. It is made up of 12 floors of office spaces spanning over 14,827 sqm, two floors of retail spaces covering approximately 1,545 sqm (total site area of 32, 800 sqm), a basement and a parking podium (3 above grade,1 below grade) for about 350 cars as well as a restaurant and cafe.
The facility has high net worth tenants, including IT giant, Microsoft, which recently opened a world-class office for its Africa Development Center (ADC) inside the facility. The new ADC offices which also houses The Microsoft Garage, accommodates the firm’s product engineering, ecosystem development and innovation teams.
FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA’S FAMFA TOWER
As its name suggests, Famfa Tower is being built by Famfa Oil owned by Africa’s richest woman, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija. Billed for completion in the second quarter of 2022, the 22-floor office facility will serve as the headquarters of Famfa Oil Limited, which will occupy three floors, while the remaining floors will be leased out to the public.
Amenities and features in the towers include a gymnasium, an helipad with a dedicated waiting lounge, a multipurpose hall, 266 parking lots and raised access floors.
According to sources, the imposing edifice has gulped over N90 billion and is expected to top N100 billion at completion.
DANGOTE TOWER
The Dangote Tower, which is situated on the same street as the Dangote Group head office at Union Marble House, is an 18-floor office development that will, on completion, serve as the headquarters of Dangote Group.
The building, sources in the company said, will be fully occupied by employees of Dangote Group upon completion next year.
Features of the facility include a gross leasable area of 15,000 square metres.
BUA TOWER
Owned by billionaire businessman and Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Rabiu Abdulsamad, construction of the 8-floor tower is coming barely a year after BUA Group moved to its 10-floor headquaters on Churchgate Street, Victoria Island.
The new building, which is still under construction, is located on the corner of Club and Alfred Rewane Way. However, it is not known if the billionaire will again be moving office to the new building after its completion.
MULINER TOWERS
Muliner Towers presently sits on the site of the burnt NNPC building in Ikoyi. The tower is set on a large ground with ample parking space for residents and guests in a secure, gated environment with security personnel. This well laid out office complex has a lovely silvery look which glitters in the sun.
It presently houses banks and multinational companies like Google and computers maker, Hewlett Packard (HP).
Expectedly, the facilities come at a cost. For instance, a square metre (lease/rent) goes for an average of $800 (N468,000/year), while a rented residential accommodation is between $30,000 (N17,550,000) to $55,000 (N20,475,000).
– Isaac Abimbade
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