Upper Hill, Nairobi

Upper Hill
Upper Hill in 2017
Upper Hill Location of Upper Hill, Nairobi in Kenya
Coordinates: 01°17′59″S36°48′58″E / 1.29972°S 36.81611°E / -1.29972; 36.81611
Country	Kenya
County	Nairobi City
Sub-county	Westlands & Kibra
Elevation	5,600 ft (1,700 m)

Upper Hill is a neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. The district has seen an increase in major construction in recent years,^{[ when? ]} with several multinational corporations setting up offices. ^{[1] [2]}

Location

Upper Hill is located 4 kilometres (2 mi) by road west of the central business district of Nairobi. ^[3] The coordinates of Upper Hill are 1°17′59″N36°48′58″E / 1.299719°N 36.816097°E / 1.299719; 36.816097 . Upper Hill lies in two major Nairobi City sub-counties; Kibra and Westlands.Ngong Road separates the two sub-counties.

Overview

Upper Hill was historically one of the residential neighbourhoods of the city of Nairobi, during colonial times, and stretched all the way to the Kilimani estate. The 280 hectares (700 acres) that comprise part of Upper Hill were majorly owned by Kenya Railways. ^[4] During the 1990s and early 2000s, as land and office space became scarce and exorbitantly priced in the central business district, businesses relocated to Upper Hill and Westlands, where land and office space were more readily available and less expensive. Today, Upper Hill possesses a new modern skyline that is still being filled by modern skyscrapers of different and prestigious designs in the architectural world. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Economy

Spencon historically had its head office here, ^[8] at Rahimtulla Tower. ^[9]

Landmarks

In Upper Hill or near the boundaries of the suburb, there are several landmarks, including the following:

• Britam Tower, a 200-metre skyscraper that houses an insurance company.
• UAP Old Mutual Tower, a 163-metre tower, the regional headquarters of UAP holdings.
• Prism Tower, a new upscale property along Ngong road.
• KCB towers, the new headquarters of KCB bank.
• Upper Hill District Association, an Association for Upper Hill
• The Kenyan regional offices of EMC Corporation
• Nairobi Hospital
• The headquarters of the Kenyan Ministry of Health
• Nairobi Club Ground – An upscale private membership cricket club, with a clubhouse and cricket oval.
• The offices of the World Health Organization in Kenya
• Upper Hill School ^[10]
• The British High Commission in Kenya ^[11]
• The Kenyan headquarters of the African Development Bank
• The Kenyan headquarters of Citibank
• The Kenyan headquarters of DawaSwift
• The headquarters of Equity Group Holdings
• The Kenyan headquarters of NextChat
• The headquarters of Britam
• The headquarters of NCBA Group
• The headquarters of Zep-Re (PTA Reinsurance)
• The headquarters of the Insurance Regulatory Authority
• The headquarters of Teacher Service Commission (TSC)
• The East African headquarters of Oxford University Press
• The Embassy of Japan
• The Embassy of Indonesia
• The Embassy of Israel
• The headquarters of UAP Group
• The headquarters of the Kenya Accountant and Secretaries National Examination Board (KASNEB)
• Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK)
• The Rahimtulla Tower, a twenty-two storey office skyscraper
• The Kenyan offices of the World Bank
• The Kenyan offices of the International Finance Corporation
• The headquarters of Victoria Commercial Bank, located in Victoria Towers on Kilimanjaro Avenue
• Kenya Commercial Bank Plaza (KCB Plaza) – Construction began in December 2010. Occupancy expected in 2013. ^[12]

See also

• Rahimtulla Tower
• Abcon Complex & Towers
• Westlands
• Parklands, Nairobi
• Eastleigh, Nairobi

References

1. Waitathu, Nicholas (30 January 2015). "Upperhill land most expensive at Sh470 million an acre, report shows". The Star (Kenya) . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
2. Munda, Constant (26 January 2016). "An acre of land in Upper Hill shoots to Sh510 million". The Star (Kenya) . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
3. GFC (27 April 2016). "Distance between Nairobi, Kenya and Nairobi Upper Hill, Nairobi, Kenya". Globefeed.com (GFC). Retrieved 27 April 2016.
4. Azarius Karanja, Eric Mugendi (16 June 2013). "Nairobi past and present". Africa Review . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
5. Liloba, Humphrey (3 March 2014). "Nairobi heading for office glut by 2016". East African Business Week . Kampala. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
6. MMtairo (29 October 2013). "Nairobi Skyline Set to Undergo a Major Transformation". Nairobi: Build Design Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
7. Kariuki, James (29 March 2016). "Knight Frank begins leasing of UAP-Old Mutual towers". Business Daily Africa . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
8. Gunter, Joel; Charles Young. "Spencon: Inside the collapse of an African construction giant". BBC . Retrieved 6 April 2020.
9. "Contact". Spencon. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2020. Rahimtulla Tower, hill road P.O. Box 881-00606 Nairobi Kenya
10. Omollo, Chris (14 March 2016). "Upper Hill stop Nairobi School to lift rugby title". Daily Nation . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
11. Google (27 April 2016). "Location of the British High Commission to Kenya" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
12. Nation Correspondent (6 December 2010). "KCB staff fund to put up Sh2.1bn office block". Daily Nation . Nairobi. Retrieved 27 April 2016.