Fast food and mobile outlets lead the wave of urban regeneration in Lagos | The Guardian Nigeria News

With rental rates nearly doubling in the last year, some major locations in the heart of Lagos could, property experts say, gradually become hubs of business activity throughout the city, if recent developments are justified.

Real estate professionals and town planners, who examined investment activity in the areas in an independent survey last week, believe that given the rate of rent appreciation over the past year, areas are gaining popularity thanks to their improvements in terms of rental appreciation. .

In these locations, residential and office buildings have been converted to accommodate evolving commercial outlets, while some are purpose built. Most of the time, these buildings have been renovated without resorting to town planning regulations such as parking space, causing traffic bottlenecks on major roads.

According to surveyors, there has been an increase in business activity in places such as Oshodi, Ikeja, Surulere, Abule-Egba, Ikoyi, Agege, Victoria Island, Ojodu-berger and Ajao Estate. Popular fast food establishments like Tantalizers, Tastee Fried Chicken, FoodCo, So Fresh, Bukka Hut, McDonalds, Chicken republic, Sweet sensation and Mr. Biggs, Dominoes, The Place and KFC restaurants are behind the new business.

Specifically, retail oriented developments such as fast food / restaurant and other mobile outlets are leading the wave of urban regeneration in the metropolis of Lagos and improving the quality of life in the communities.

There are also evolving business concerns, which are mainly service providers and companies of next generation computer, hardware and software, fashion and clothing companies as well as mobile phone outlets such as 3C Hub, Slot, Micro Station and XRight. There are smaller snack kiosks that dot multiple locations and joints, as well as freestanding stand structures, which generate high footfall.

Real estate experts say the Admiralty Lane in Lekki’s Phase 1 has become a retail hub, while property values ​​in this axis have appreciated by 300%. Land that was previously sold for 100,000 N per square meter has grown to almost 400,000 N per square meter.

In other places such as Opebi, Allen, Toyin, Awolowo, Oba Akran and Oregun streets in Ikeja, offices previously rented five years ago for N15,000 per square meter now command a rent of N30,000 / N 35,000 per square meter, while other nerd areas are as high as N80,000 per square meter.

Some other real estate prices range from N45,000 per square meter to N50,000 per square meter, depending on the quality of the property. For example, along Awolowo Road in Ikeja, specifically, Awolowo House, offices previously rented at 8,000 per square meter, now go for N35,000 per square meter.

Retail activities in the city have also morphed into a close relationship and are often used to support regeneration programs providing a catalyst for wider physical and urban development. Opportunities have become an important element, contributing to socio-economic development by providing jobs, services and investment.

According to the Guardian’s survey, young people, families and young professionals are seen as constant visitors to these outlets doing one or the other transaction.

The president of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Muyiwa Adelu, said the growth is due to the increase in population and the commercial instinct of the inhabitants of a city like Lagos as well as to the reality that the economy is better than anywhere else in the country. This, he said, encourages people to patronize these outlets.

However, he called for adequate planning, adding that ideas for structures should align with the precepts of the master plan and what is best for the people.

Outlets, he said, were a threat because people were placing them indiscriminately until recently, when the successive government repackaged them for a better location.

He said: “It is necessary to ensure that the authorities adapt and plan with the owners the siting of the installations. As town planners, our association disapproves of the reckless siting of facilities.

“If our city is to be well planned, that means all operations have to be too. We need to encourage our entrepreneurs to comply with rules and regulations. The government must wake up by controlling and monitoring our development through the use of its agencies for an effective regeneration of the city of Lagos and metropolitan areas.

Adelu explained that due to the high demand and shortage, the property value for point-of-sale locations will continue to increase.

“Unfortunately, if they are to comply with our regulations, the government must restrict them to commercial areas, which means that ownership in commercial areas will also be high.

“As it stands now, what works is that people put such a facility anywhere, the parties agree on the value and the property pops up.”

Outgoing Nigerian Institution of Surveyors and Property Surveyors President Adedotun Bamigbola, who confirmed the development, said it also involved local and foreign brand grocery stores and supermarkets popping up in various locations.

“Fast food, grocery stores, telecom stores or phone stores have been the foundation of what you find in malls, leading to a surge of destination and neighborhood malls in Lagos, Abuja and major centers. -cities. With our huge population, the basic things we actually use are food, phones, and groceries. We have over 100 million phone lines in Nigeria. This is what is driving regeneration in commercial and office developments. “

Another real estate expert, Richard Olodu, said it was as a result of the emergence of retail outlets in lkeja that transformed a major location like the IT village from a residential area into a commercial area and the visibility of outlets. Notable fast food restaurants on Kodesho Street, such as Aviation Plaza.

He said: “Before Anifowoshe Street was primarily a residential area, but today it has become a shopping center with major developments. Next to the commercial center of the town of lkeja, properties which were previously residential have been transformed into commercial use.

“Before the rent for a two bedroom apartment around lkeja was 360,000 N per year, it went up to 700,000 N and today you could hardly find one for N1. 5 millions. If it is new, it is about 2.5 million naira. This is due to the Computer Village overflow. Before on Anifowoshe Street you could find rooms in a bungalow for 1000 per month, but today these houses have been phased out. If the government is successful in moving Computer Village to the new location, it will also have a big impact on rent in that area. “

Former Nigerian Institute of Urban Planners (NITP) Vice President Lookman Oshodi said that in the urban food supply system, food distribution points play a major role in ensuring that urban food is kept alive to support the urban population.

He said that urban regeneration is a comprehensive system that looks not only at physical development, but also at the economic revitalization of any community, contributing to the creation of jobs and income for different state agencies.

Fast food establishments have led to a gentrification of urban regeneration, he said, increasing the rental value of some properties in the area.

He explained: “The value of the property in a place where people pay 5,000 N per year, due to the influence of food distribution points, landlords can decide to increase the rent to 35,000 N per year. an and it can displace those who live there.

“When we look at regeneration, we look at devastated communities, whether mobile outlets are increasing or decreasing in those areas. The rates of increase of mobile outlets are starting to become a contradiction between many community groups and where they are located.

“Some community members feel that vendors and vulcanizers who use mobile outlets in different places and in certain places at the entrance to certain communities are becoming an environmental nuisance for the peace and quiet of the area. In terms of urban regeneration, they may not really produce a positive effect, if they are not considered necessary by the population.