Developer plans 748 apartments in twin 30-floor towers on Parklands Ring Road

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A developer is seeking environmental approval to put up two residential towers with 748 apartments on Ring Road Parklands in Nairobi, in an area where residents are challenging the county’s development approvals in court.

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) says in the Kenya Gazette of October 16 that it has received an environmental and social impact assessment study report from Ivory Crown Residences Company Limited for the project on plot L.R. No. Nairobi/Block 7/12.

What is planned

The project has two blocks, A and B, each with six basement levels for parking. The ground floor and the first to 30th floors would hold the apartments.

The unit mix is:

• 30 studios
• 330 one-bedroom apartments
• 326 two-bedroom apartments
• 62 two-bedroom apartments with a domestic servant’s quarter

Shared amenities would include a convenience store, a garden, an office, a café, a staff canteen, changing rooms, a pickleball court, a music hall, a meeting room and a gym.

The notice does not give the cost of the project, unit prices or a construction timeline, and does not name the people behind Ivory Crown Residences.

Impacts listed in the report

NEMA’s summary of the report lists soil erosion, loss of vegetation, changes in drainage from deep excavation, air pollution, road traffic and security as the main expected impacts.

The developer says a geotechnical survey has been done and that there will be no blasting during excavation. It also commits to a traffic impact assessment and a traffic management plan, formal flagmen at the site, covered trucks for soil and sand, dust control, and building the sewer system to approved designs. Working hours will follow NEMA’s licence conditions.

Members of the public have 30 days from October 16, to about November 15, to send oral or written comments to the NEMA Director-General, quoting reference NEMA/ENVIS/SR/00774. The full report can be downloaded from the NEMA website, and comments can also go to the County Director of Environment in Nairobi.

The Parklands planning dispute

The application comes as the Parklands Residents Association says all development approvals in the area issued after October 14, 2026 are void. It cites a 2025 Environment and Land Court judgment that gave Nairobi City County 12 months to prepare a local plan for Parklands, failing which “any approvals after the lapse of 12 months” would be null and void. We covered the background in Parklands residents say building approvals void after Nairobi misses court deadline.

In that case, a society of developers told the court that the county’s 2021 development control policy allows buildings of 15 to 20 floors in the zones that cover Parklands. The Ivory Crown towers would rise to 30 floors above the ground floor.

A NEMA licence deals with environmental effects only. A project of this size also needs planning permission and building approval from Nairobi City County, as well as registration with the National Construction Authority.

Demand for flats

The project would add to the supply of flats at a time when apartment prices are flat over the year. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said apartment prices rose 0.1 per cent in the year to June, although they gained 3.6 per cent between the first and second quarters. Its index for apartments in upper-end Nairobi areas rose to 96.9 from 92.5 a year earlier.

NEMA will decide on the licence after the comment period closes.