Ilubirin to Redefine Living, Commerce, Leisure in Lagos
Bennett Oghifo
The Lagoon front in Lagos hosts some premium communities, stretching from Ikoyi through Victoria Island to Lekki. Now, in the neighbourhood of the Third Mainland Bridge a new city is being built, and it will come complete as a place to live, do commerce and have leisure.
This exquisitely planned development is to be achieved through a partnership between the Lagos State Government and First Investment Development Company ( FIDC), using a special purpose vehicle known as Ilubirin Foreshore Projects Limited.
Both parties have made firm commitments on the completion of the first phase of this significant new neighbourhood next year.
A revised masterplan has been recently completed that optimises the marina positioning and creates a new shopping spine through the new neighbourhood, the developer said.
Located on the northwest coast of Lagos Island, the development is centrally positioned between the mainland and the core districts of Victoria Island; Isale-Eko; Obalende; and Ikoyi. With its proposed slip road due to open this month,
Ilubirin will have direct access to the Lagos Ring Road— an efficient and streamlined route to both the mainland and other hubs of Lagos.
According to FIDC, the developer, Ilubirin is a 29ha mixed- use development with a substantial residential leisure component, linked to the lagoon edge and the new wetland area. The leisure activities include retail, sports and hospitality uses.
The Ilubirin site will incorporate residential apartments (242,350m2), medical facilities, schools ( 8,000m2), shopping ( 10,000m2) boulevards and public squares, offices (10,000m2), a hotel ( 8,500m2), performance and leisure spaces ( 10,000m2), landscaped gardens and new green wetlands.
The lagoon water’s edge is the area where the main concentration of leisure, retail, and hospitality facilities will be located. These areas accommodate restaurants, coffee shops, hotels and various other water related recreational activities. The public space allows for events and has an attractive pedestrian character, thus creating a vibrant public environment. By ensuring that there is also a mix with residential apartments, the development will be active and safe 24 hours a day, according to FIDC officials.
The housing available specifically targets Lagos’s vast emerging middle class – an affordable solution for people who wish to be close to central Lagos without the burden of high-end gated communities.
Ilubirin’s first residential offering, The Premier Collection, will provide a total of 108 spacious apartments across five elegant blocks, consisting of 20 studios, 64 two- bedroom and 24 three- bedroom apartments carefully designed and detailed to provide some of the finest places to live.
Incorporating modern medical facilities, schools, sporting facilities, chic shopping boulevards and spacious public squares, a hotel, performance and leisure spaces, marina, and landscaped gardens, in addition to contemporary residential apartments, Ilubirin provides a unique community for families, for couples, and for individuals. Stunningly landscaped with garden, wetlands and lagoon- side promenades, this engaging and dynamic new community will set new lifestyle standards in this part of the city.
Ilubirin will create a new place to live, work and play and crucially assist in addressing the housing deficit in Lagos. The 29-hectare mixed-use development will benefit from a substantial residential leisure component linked to the lagoon edge and a remarkable new wetland park.
The new city will be constructed by Arbico PLC and with overall urban design by international firms Gapp Architects and Urban Designers and SAOTA, Ilubirin is set to become an inspiring neighbourhood for a forward thinking and aspirational community, said the developer.
There was a recent tour of the facility site by top officials of the state government, led by the Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai and top Executives of FIDC, led by the Chairman, Mr. Bisi Adebutu, and both parties declared that with the commitment from them, Lagosians, and indeed the general public which has been dreaming of a novel, all- purpose housing complex that seamlessly fuses living, commerce and leisure would have such dreams fulfilled.
Reaffirming the positive progress to- date, Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai said, “We have a solid plan to deliver the first phase of the project in the third quarter of 2021 and the first residential in 2020. Ilubirin is a critically important development for the city that will rejuvenate the area. We have a duty to ensure that more Lagos residents become homeowners and that the homes themselves are built to the very highest standards.”
“There is a collective determination and commitment to the timely delivery of Ilubirin, which will set a new standard for mixed use projects,” commented Mr. Wale Bamgbelu of First Investment Property Company ( FIDC), “Ilubirin will create a benchmark for future community developments in Lagos, anchored to the concept of ‘ Live, Work and Play’, with not only a residential offering but with a new school, offices, shopping, hotel, medical centre, leisure facilities and a brand new marina for the lagoon.”
“We have a solid plan to deliver the first phase of the project in the third quarter of 2021 and the first residential in 2020. Ilubirin is a critically important development for the city that will rejuvenate the area. We have a duty to ensure that more Lagos residents become homeowners and that the homes themselves are built to the very highest standards.”
Re- echoing the Commissioner’s resolve, Mr. Wale Bamgbelu, Project Director for FIDC said: “There is a collective determination and commitment to the timely delivery of Ilubirin, which will set a new standard for mixed use projects. Ilubirin will create a benchmark for future community developments in Lagos, anchored on the concept of ‘ Live, Work and Play’, with not only residential offerings but also offices, shopping, school, hotel, medical centre, leisure facilities and a brand new marina for the lagoon.”
The SPV used in constructing the city, Ilubirin Foreshore Projects Limited is a joint venture with Lagos State and First Investment Development Company (FIDC) Founded in 2008, FIDC has emerged as one of the leading and rapidly expanding building construction and civil engineering management companies in Nigeria. Bringing over 40 years of combined local and international experience to the firm, the directors have poised FIDC to continue its impressive growth. FIDC’s central business policy has been to source prime locations, build properties of premium quality and providing exceptional services for the prestigious clientele. This combination of local expertise, a central business policy along with global investor relations has formed the structure for FIDC as an industry benchmark brand.