Cantonments City: The Best Mixed-Use Development in Ghana by Goldkey Properties

Interview with Fuseina Abu, Managing Director of Goldkey Building Prestige

What is your assessment of the real estate sector in Ghana? What are the latest trends?

The real estate industry in Ghana is still challenging. It reflects the state of the country and the economy as a whole. Since its independence, Ghana has really thrived and alongside that the real estate industry has grown. There are a number of large, well-established companies like ourselves doing developments on a fairly impressive scale. There are a lot of competitors but it is a growing sector. More and more multinational companies are moving to Ghana. It is one of the strategic, centrally located countries in West Africa.

Is the market competitive here?

What we are most proud of is the quality of the tenants that we attract. You do not attract the likes of Huawei, PwC, Ernst & Young, Vivo, the British High Commission, the American Embassy if you are not doing something right.

The market is competitive. There are a number of new commercial office developments and mixed-use developments. Our current large mixed-use development is called Cantonments City. It is a mix of commercial office buildings, hotels, multi-story parking, and shopping. There is Grade A, high quality space available if you are a corporate or a startup looking for somewhere to base yourself. There is competition, but the quality of Cantonments City speaks for itself. We build sustainable, modern, green buildings with full disability access. We have been fairly successful in attracting large multinational companies to Cantonments City. Our tenants include the likes of Huawei, Vivo Energy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young. This list of tenants speaks for itself. There is something that we are doing right. The market is competitive, but at the same time, we are succeeding because of the quality of our products.

What specifically makes you stand out here in terms of your quality?

We build genuine, Grade A office buildings. What that means is that our buildings are flexible and sustainable. We used raised flooring which provides our tenants with a lot of flexibility. It means they can set out their floorplates any way they want to. We have biodigesters for recycling waste from the building. Only 10% of the sewage waste generated from our buildings actually goes into the public sewer. It is those sorts of things that you do not necessarily see when you look at a building but they are the mark of a well-designed, quality office building that we provide.

Are tenants already renting in Cantonments City?

Cantonments City is a long-term project. Once we conclude, it will be Accra’s most prime mixed-use development. We are about 50% of the way through and we expect to complete within about two years. We have space for more anchor tenants. Our business is attracting multinational corporations that want to move to Ghana and have a headquarters here. There is scope to accommodate further corporates. Should they want to relocate from elsewhere in Accra to Cantonments City or from elsewhere in West Africa to Cantonments City, they can be part of this.

What are some success stories you have achieved?

What we are most proud of is the quality of the tenants that we attract. You do not attract the likes of Huawei, PwC, Ernst & Young, Vivo, the British High Commission, the American Embassy if you are not doing something right. For us, we are proud of the caliber of our tenants and we have them because of the quality of our products.

What is your scope of business?

Goldkey Properties is very much an indigenous Ghanaian company. We have been established for over 20 years now. We started off in the residential sphere, but at present, our business is about 50% commercial and 50% residential. We are in the business of providing good quality residential accommodation in prime areas of Accra, notably Cantonments and Airport, as well as building commercial office buildings and the mixed-use Cantonments City development.

What awards have you won?

Goldkey Properties entered the International Property Awards and Cantonments City won Best Mixed-Use Development which is something that we are very proud of.

What CSR activities are you active in?

As a property development company, we do take our role in the development of the nation as a whole seriously. We do not just build for ourselves. We have done a significant CSR project where we built a school in the central region at the end of last year. CSR is important to us and something that we are looking to do more of going forward.

What are the major challenges that the sector faces?

The major challenge the sector faces is the increased competition. For many years, there were a few key players, but the number of developers in the market has increased a lot in recent years. Now, it is a challenge. It means that we need to stay on top of our game and to do that we need to be sure that we are the developer that is putting the best quality buildings on the market. That is what distinguishes us in an increasingly competitive market. There may be many other developers, but in terms of those that are producing genuine, Grade A buildings, we are among the few.

What is your vision for the company in the medium term, three years’ time? What would you like to have achieved?

In three years’ time, our Cantonments City development will be complete. We will have Accra’s prime mixed-use destination with a hotel, a retail shopping mall, corporate offices, a multi-story car park, all within a small area. It will be somewhere that you can come to work, go out after work to eat, stay. The motto for Cantonments City is that it should be somewhere where you can live, work, play, shop. Everything is on your doorstep. In three years, Cantonments City will be somewhere that all large corporates in Accra will want to be located.

Will you have any new projects coming up?

On both the commercial and the residential side, we are expanding and we are always looking for joint venture partners for investment. We are constantly thinking about what the next Cantonments City is going to be.

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