Part I; How to set up a studio in Kisumu’s real estate

As Kenya’s capital Nairobi runs out of capacity to produce more jobs and affordable space, realtors are noting a shift to satellite towns in search of untapped opportunity.

Unlike Nairobi which has abundant real estate, most towns are only catching up, with office spaces in residencies and old town buildings even as new grade buildings are coming up.

For those thinking of making this great trek into the unfamiliar, our experience setting up shop in Kisumu might provide some pointers on how to navigate real estate in Kenya’s satellite towns.

New vs old

One of the first things I noticed when we moved to Kisumu, other than the breathtaking landscapes, was the calm and steady pace here, people moved slowly, some were seated calmly by the roadside telling stories. Small crowds gathered beneath trees and around shoe shiners and liberally shouted politics, at the city center.

The only place you did not see the idling crowds was around the cube of grey glass and concrete, the Kentons building, one of Kisumu’s newest real estate. It stood out with forbidding sterility and only housed two banks, Bata and a foam mattress store, and foot traffic went round it avoiding its façade.

In my mind, I realized that in Kisumu, people were still stuck with the familiar. All the old buildings and shopfronts crowded around malls like Tuff mall, Mega City, United Mall etc etc..

So for our studio I felt we needed a place that could combine this familiarity, with calm and serenity, something I would love for our clients to experience with us, especially being that we were a service-based industry.

Kisumu’s abandoned downtown

On one of the first trips to Kisumu’s down town when running errands we spotted what would be an ideal location to set up a studio.

We had come to buy an office line and learn the ins and outs of obtaining a paybill or till for our business. Kenya’s digitized economy that relies heavily on mobile money transactions, has made Safaricom the country’s business registry that could be witnessed in the enduring the long queues that only rival a government department.

We were looking for somewhere to have lunch, and being new in the area, we asked a longtime friend for a reference which led us to Kakwacha.

I barely noticed anything on the way there, clouded by hunger and my toddler’s restlessness as a result of his now groaning stomach. The meal was not only filling but also tasty. My baby had the best time running around the large hotel saying hello to everyone on their tables, who reminded me that he is just a child whenever I tried to ‘stop him from disturbing their peace’.

Food outlets follow real estate and city economic activity outlay. The small chips stalls inserted in pockets of retail stores, the mid rage travel hotels serving those who come to the city for building supplies headed for the villages.

On the walk back, with my spirits raised and more relaxed now, I was able to take in the beauty that is Kisumu.  I had not noticed that the hotel we were eating from was right next to the lake, separated by a tarmac road and Kenya Railway. There were large trees on the side of the road and between them you could see the lake, shimmering and gray in the afternoon heat.

The streets were almost empty, save for a few boda bodas and cars parked by the roadside.

Initially I thought perhaps people rarely walk outside at this time due to the heat, but I would later learn it is generally not a crowded place.

Kisumu’s downtown has been deserted since the county cleared out unplanned stalls including Lwangni- housefly, a famous eatery at the shores of Lake Victoria that had been an iconic feature of Kisumu for decades. While these pulled crowds, they came with the burden of unplanned growth including pollution car wash, and encroached on land that has now been reclaimed by Railways, and Kenya ports authority.

Pricing

But for us, this low foot traffic would be an ideal location for a studio and which provided ample alternative for street photography. What’s more Oyier claimed that since footfall plummeted in Kisumu’s down town, space had become cheap.

‘We can get an office space kwa hiyo buiding,’ he said pinting at the row of white and blue buildings as if they had been painted by the city’s decree.

Read also: SHE Leads at the heart of Kisumu’s resurgence

He said the rates and could be around 10,000 depending on the size, which seemed extremely reasonable and affirmed the practicality of the businesses we were trying to set up from scratch.

But we were wrong, when we eventually hit the ground in this area, the obvious consideration was Swan Center, the mall owned by the late Kisii politician Simeone Nyachae.

As people cleared from down town they had left this investment barely occupied but very clean. There were a lot of open spaces with great natural light and beautiful plants. This would be an ideal location as we would have access to outdoor space and natural light. We checked out the spaces from through the windows before  security personnel came to request that I stop taking photos. You see the photos were for the rest of the team to see, but he did not allow me to explain, raising my reservations.

He guided us to the building's office in a small corner on the first floor and said that they would help us to know which spaces were currently available and would share the rates with us. 

The smallest space they had was 324 sq ft which was going for Kes37,000 monthly. You also had to deposit three-month deposit plus one month rent, a levy fee of 15000 - 20000 and on top of that the rent was subjected to a 5% escalation annually. 

We asked if we could take photos on their corridors if we were to settle on a location here, but they refused. Wow. We knew already that it was not somewhere we could settle at the moment, in fact it was not even within our estimated budget.

Reality Cheque

We soon realized that we had grossly underestimated the cost of floor space in Kisumu when we began the actual office hunting. Kisumu office space rates range from Kes100-120 per square foot with some going up to Kes130 inclusive of service charges in the town e.g likes of Alpha House Mega Plaza according to Sidney Bonyo of Dansal Associates. He says Murbs building offers some of the most competitive rates of Kes65 per sq feet plus service charge.

But at the time we did not know that. Lynnette, one of our business partners and friend who has lived in Kisumu for a long time, had a few suggestions on where we should begin the search. She also reached out to some of her contacts who guided us on a few locations.

We dedicated the week to looking around and comparing rates and locations before settling on one.

I also got connected with an agent based in Kisumu. I shared with him what we were looking for, and our budget. He promised to look around as well and share some locations so we can do site visits.

Window shopping

We visited Silver plaza next, they had a few more stalls open. They charged between Kes45000 to Kes35000 for monthly rent. They required a deposit of 2 months plus one month's rent. Electricity and water was all inclusive. 

The location was ideal with a lot of traffic. The possibility of getting walk-in clients in this location was high. We however did not find it very aesthetically appealing. The area was not kept very clean, and as we wanted comfort to be one of the key things we prioritized for our clients.

We visited the mini mall next. Beautiful building with plenty of natural light. The stalls were also of decent size, and human traffic here was also not bad. The rates were 35000 for the space we spotted. They required a one-month deposit and two month rent on entry. It was definitely a place to consider.

We also visited one Kentons, only to be told they lease out the offices on the ground floor, the rest of the building was exclusively occupied by them. We could not however get the rates as the receptionist did not know.

We also made inquiries at Mega plaza, the traffic was quite high, however there were already 3 studios in the building. They charged Kes100 per square foot for a minimum of 500 sqft per tenant. They required a deposit of three months and 1 month rent. There was also an annual legal fee of 5,720

On our way out we checked out Alpha house just near Mega plaza. They charged 45,000 for a vacant office space we spotted that was 500sqft. The lighting was however not the best, and redecorating the space would be challenging as it was less wide and more narrow. Electricity here was charged separately and there was a service charge on top of the rent monthly.

We realized the rates of an office space were quite different from what we initially thought. So we took a leap of faith and decided to adjust our budget. As we did our search, we also wanted to do some background check, to try and find out which were the top photo studios in Kisumu, what services were they offering, and average of the rates for their services, the type of sets they had , their strengths and weaknesses and use that to really understand the market.

Read also: Part II Evolution of studio photography