‘Whimsy in the City:' What Ngara’s Revival Reveals About Nairobi

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When Soma Nami Books opened its second store in Ngara in June 2024, it marked more than an expansion for a beloved bookstore. It signaled a shift in how many Nairobians view a neighborhood long associated with neglect.

“Ngara was a great choice because of all the exciting things now happening there,” says co-founder Muthoni Muiri. “There’s a real rejuvenation. It’s becoming a vibrant, artistic, and entrepreneurial hub.”

Located in a prime area just in the Central Business District, Ngara was for years known more for grime, crime, drug trafficking, and its car garages than for creativity. “You could easily sell parts from a stolen car there,” one local said. Now, a short stretch along Ngara Road is gaining attention for its colorful murals, restored storefronts, and a growing mix of design studios and creative hubs.

Soma Nami’s mural-framed entrance and curated shelves sit near The Living Rooms, a social lounge with a lovely rooftop terrace. A few steps away, Kali Works is a Pan‑African fashion and design house that doubles as a studio, showroom, and event venue. There are even whispers of a hidden speakeasy tucked behind a nearby liquor store.

At night, the street comes alive with parties, art shows, and pop-up events. “[Ngara] attracts the curious,” says Kali Works co-founder Alex Dingiria. “People looking for some sort of whimsy in the city.” 

Students, young creatives, expatriates, and upper/middle-class Nairobians have begun exploring what Ngara now offers. Some tastemakers have started comparing it to cultural hubs like Johannesburg’s Maboneng or London’s Shoreditch. Last month, Condé Nast Traveler listed Ngara among “The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2026.”

Despite Ngara’s visible transformation, this shift is about more than just aesthetics or trendy businesses. It signals a deeper reconsideration of how Nairobi — and other fast-growing African cities — imagine their future. As the continent urbanizes at an unprecedented pace, questions emerge about what kind of growth should be prioritized. In a city where new construction is constant, and the population pushes steadily outward, what becomes of older neighborhoods that have long existed in the margins?

A Historic Neighborhood Reimagined

Ngara’s story traces back to the mid-20th century, when colonial planners designated it primarily for Asian residents and traders. By the 1950s, two-story buildings lined the streets. It was a close-knit, self-sustaining community, and many of those buildings still stand today.

After independence in 1963 and the end of racially segregated housing, African families moved in. Over time, many Indian families relocated to Nairobi’s suburbs or abroad, and their businesses gradually closed.

One of the few that remains is Amar Sons, a fabric and tailoring shop on Ngara Road, run by the same family since the 1950s. Its windows display colorful saris and embroidered suits. Inside, shelves remain lined, but customers are now rare.

“This shop was started by our grandparents,” says one of the owners, who prefers not to be named. She remembers a time when Indian-run businesses lined the street, and the neighborhood felt clean, safe, and vibrant. “These days, we’re lucky to see even one customer.”

She doesn’t blame the slowdown on the Indian community’s decline, noting Amar Sons long served African customers. As for the new wave of businesses, she acknowledges the changes calmly. But the increased foot traffic, she says, is not coming through her door.

The Business Vision Behind the Buzz

Just a few doors from Amar Sons, Kali Works blends retail, fashion, and culture with regular community events. “There’s a lot of stuff for the community,” says co-founder Dingiria.

Originally launched in Canada in 2019, Dingiria relocated the Kali Works to Nairobi in 2023. After briefly operating out of a converted shipping container in Gigiri, he began looking for a space that matched the scale and spirit of his creative ambitions.

Ngara stood out.

He was drawn by the location and a bold vision to transform the area into an accessible arts district rooted in Nairobi’s older architecture. “When I learned about the vision of taking all these spaces and converting them into an arts and culture district, it was great,” he says. “I've seen it done really well in places like Montreal… The repurposing of old buildings into galleries, restaurants, and cultural hubs.”

That vision was shared with him by NBST Management, a real estate firm backed by a mix of Kenyan and foreign investors. The company has been buying, refurbishing, and leasing buildings to creative entrepreneurs. While NBST declined to share its plans with OkayAfrica, its public branding offers clues. On social media, the company describes itself as “redeveloping buildings and revitalizing communities in neglected neighborhoods.” Its LinkedIn adds: “Our neighbourhood clusters will be home to Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and creators.”

NBST actively promotes its events and partnerships under the social media handle Visit Ngara. The model recalls South Africa’s Maboneng Precinct, where private development turned a once-overlooked district into a cultural and commercial hub.

For Dingiria and Soma Nami’s Muiri, it was that clarity of vision that convinced them to become early tenants. “When they approached us and said, we’re building a creative and entrepreneurial hub in Ngara, and Soma Nami fits into that, I was very sold,” Muiri says. “It became the next best thing.”

For Alice Coulson of Jikoni Studio, who plans to soon sign a lease with NBST, Ngara offered something else: a chance to build a food business inside a creative ecosystem that’s still taking shape. After a decade working as a chef and nutritionist — first abroad, then across Kenya as a culinary consultant — she launched Jikoni Studio, a cooking school and events company offering short, skills-based courses for housekeepers, home cooks, and professional chefs, alongside social experiences like pasta-and-wine or tacos-and-tequila nights.

Rather than join the crowded restaurant scenes in more established areas, she wanted to be “at the beginning of this wave,” in a neighborhood she hopes will grow into a hub for “young, interesting, creative Kenyans and expats.” As she puts it, “It’s going to be full of creative businesses... I think there’s going to be big things here.”

"Who Is the Arts District For?"

NBST hasn’t just courted businesses; it is also engaging artists like Musa Omusi. A multidisciplinary artist, Omusi is the current artist-in-residence at Visit Ngara.

Omusi tells OkayAfrica that the opportunity came after someone from Visit Ngara attended one of his exhibitions and invited him to collaborate. When Visit Ngara applied for a British Council grant, his project was included in the programming.

Omusi’s residency expands on his ongoing work under the theme Urithi, meaning "inheritance" in Kiswahili. The project explores memory, identity, and space through what he describes as an ethnographic study of Nairobi. The two-week residency has given him time and support to create within Ngara.

“It’s a chance to work from there, create from there, and really pay attention to what’s happening along Ngara Road,” he says. He is preparing to mount the residency “exhibishop” later this week.

Still, not everyone in Nairobi’s creative circles embraces the “arts district” vision. Omusi, who describes himself as deeply embedded in those circles, acknowledges skepticism from peers about the idea of Ngara becoming a creative hotspot. The fear is about being used to give a development like Ngara cultural credibility, without long-term protections.

“Even as I took this up, I was aware many artists felt the space doesn’t really represent what it says it does,” he says.“There is a lingering feeling that at some uncertain point, the space will be flipped and its value will have been built on the back of this artist-facing image.”

Designer Michelle Pino, founder of her brand One Hundred Years, as well as the Kenyan Designers Collective, understands the concern.

“Those fears are very real,” she says. “We’ve seen how quickly a ‘creative’ label can price out the artists who helped build it.”

Still, she adds, spaces like Ngara are rare. Just this past weekend, Pino hosted a pop-up for the Kenyan Designer Collective, turning the space into a sleek boutique featuring work from over 22 Kenyan designers. The event drew an estimated 3,000 visitors.

“Affordable, character-filled spaces are almost impossible to find in this city,” she says. “When something like Ngara opens up, you want to question it…but you also want to try to work with it, not just walk away.”

Despite doubts from his peers, Omusi sees Visit Ngara as a potential connector. During his residency, he and collaborators walked the full length of Ngara Road, beyond the buzzy block now drawing attention. A highlight: a vintage camera shop that sparked new conversations and inspiration.

“I began thinking there are other places along this road that could be part of this community,” he says. “How can Visit Ngara engage with its immediate environment in a way that supports everyone, not just segments of the street?”

For Pino, that engagement happens naturally just by being in Ngara alone.

“You don’t exist in a bubble when you’re in Ngara,” she says. “We buy lunch from the vendor outside. We get our tools from the hardware store two streets down… You’re in conversation with the neighborhood whether you plan to be or not.”

Community Building in Practice

A more inclusive vision for Ngara’s creative future can be found just down the road at the Sarakasi Dome.

Nearly two decades ago, the transformation of this part of Ngara began quietly inside the dome-shaped building once known as Shan Cinema. In the early post-independence era, it was a gathering place for Nairobi’s Asian community, where families came to watch Bollywood films. But over time, the cinema fell into disuse and stood vacant for years.

By the mid-2000s, when Marion op het Veld visited the site as a potential home for Sarakasi Trust — the arts organization she co-founded — it was in receivership and severely run down. “There was open sewage and makeshift kiosks,” she recalls. “It had a whole different feel.”

Op het Veld remembered a cleaner, more orderly Ngara from the 1990s. That memory, along with the building’s cultural history, made restoring the space feel urgent. Sarakasi bought the property in 2007.

Today, the Sarakasi Dome is alive again. High ceilings make it ideal for aerial dance and acrobatics. On any afternoon, performers rehearse, youth attend workshops, and neighbors drop in. A popular restaurant has even opened inside, expanding its appeal.

From the beginning, Sarakasi’s mission extended beyond performance. The Trust collaborated with the local politicians and the City Council to clean streets, manage garbage dumping, and improve sanitation. They helped vaccinate stray dogs and ran outreach programs for street children and vulnerable residents. Just last month, Sarakasi organized the Ngara Street Carnival, inviting local vendors to showcase their goods and families from nearby estates to take part. 

At the core of their work is accessibility. Artist-in-residence Omusi says Nairobi lacks spaces where creatives can meet, work, and share. Op het Veld agrees.

“There are so few places where artists can express themselves,” she says. “If someone comes to us and says, ‘We don’t have money, but we need to rehearse,’ we give them that space for free.”

Is it Gentrification?

Across conversations about Ngara’s transformation, the word “gentrification” rarely comes up. Instead, people speak of “rejuvenation,” “revival,” or “renewal.” The British Council — which is currently collaborating with Visit Ngara — refers to the work in Ngara as “regenerative urbanism.”

But behind the colorful storefronts and rooftop social lounges lies a more urgent threat. In November 2025, Kenya Railways announced plans to liquidate KSh 16 billion (~US$123 million) in city‑centre assets — including Ngara Estate — to settle pension arrears. The estate houses over 200 families, many of them retired railway workers. If sold, the land could fetch up to KSh 10 billion (~ US$77 million), putting long‑standing residents at risk of eviction and displacement.

On Park Road, a large-scale development of 1,370 affordable apartments in Ngara was completed in 2020 on land formerly reserved for civil servants. As the flagship project of Kenya’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), it raised KSh 536.5 million (~US$4 million) for the state and is often cited as a model for urban renewal in Nairobi.

For artist Omusi, Ngara’s changes mirror a broader shift in Nairobi. He points to a growing influx of expatriates, especially those linked to international institutions. As global firms like the United Nations, JP Morgan, and the International Trade Centre establish offices in Nairobi and more agencies prepare to relocate by 2026 , demand for urban real estate is expected to rise.

Still, Omusi sees potential for local creatives. “There’s an increased desire for alternative culture,” he says. “That could be a good opportunity for culture makers from here to open up their market.”

It has already been reported that a new restaurant by a Michelin-starred chef and a London-based gallery plan to open their first Nairobi branches in Ngara in 2026. To some, these are clear signs that the neighborhood is realizing its “arts district” vision. But for Pino of the Kenyan Designers Collective, that momentum also carries a risk: narrowing the definition of creativity to its most elite or formal expressions.

“People hear ‘arts district’ and think of painters in studios,” she says. “But to me, the tailor selling fabric, the fundi making furniture, the guy at the hardware helping you improvise…they’re all creatives! Ngara has been a creative enclave for years. Some people are just now noticing.”