LUXURY LIVING - A close-up look at Fumba Uptown Living

Fumba is the future when it comes to urban, luxury living in Zanzibar. The natural beauty of the peninsula coupled with its easily commutable distance to the capital makes it the most coveted piece of real estate on the island. Innovative residential development Fumba Uptown Living is, as the name suggests, a high-end option with its luxury villas and apartments fringing the coast and a sustainable community being built around them. With properties to rent and buy now on the market, Jahazi takes a trip uptown to reveal what’s on offer.

The four-bedroom villas each come with their own swimming pool and gardens

Location

The 180-acre Fumba Uptown Living site hugs the southern coast of the Fumba Peninsula, which is a haven for marine life and has since 1998 been designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. The area has some of Zanzibar’s best beaches and the development’s villas and apartments are just steps from the sand, offering beachside living and spectacular views – the sunsets here have to be seen to be believed – out over Menai Bay. Such a relaxed coastal community is a far cry from the overcrowded bustle of Stone Town, but the capital is just a 25 km drive away for commuters or tourists who want to soak up the historic Swahili heritage. For connections to the mainland and beyond, Zanzibar International Airport is just 20 km away while the ferry port is 25 km distance. The 15km asphalt road network that has been put in place as part of the development ensures it’s a smooth journey to get there.

The four-bedroom villas each come with their own swimming pool and gardens

Properties

For all the loveliness of the location, the best part of Fumba Uptown Living is the homes themselves. Top of the range are the Sea Breeze villas that are on the market at US$ 499,000. They are arranged in clean, modern lines with each coming sequestered in its own 1,000 sq m plot fringing the coast and designed to blend in with their natural surroundings. There’s plenty of outdoor living space to make the most of the tropical temperatures and to bask in the breeze and views with a roof-top verandah crowning the two-storey buildings as well as first-floor balconies. With four bedrooms and 513 sq m of living space, they are ideal family residences or a secure investment as a buy-to-let holiday home. Each villa comes complete with fully-fitted kitchen, air conditioning, an infinity pool facing the sea, private parking space and a garden.

Affordable to more budgets will be the Sunset apartments, which begin at US$ 125,000. Each three-bedroomed apartment takes up a full floor of a 10-storey block so includes its own sea-facing terrace. The price for the apartments goes up by roughly US$1,500 with each rise in floor, culminating in US$ 141,000 for the penthouse – which has, as you can imagine, incredible views – but there is an early-bird offer in which each apartment, no matter which floor, is up for grabs at first-storey price. Features include two bathrooms – one an en-suite with the master bedroom – and the properties are ready to move in to with fitted kitchens, air conditioning and all electrical fittings in place.

Bridging the gap between the Sunset and Sea Breeze properties is a series of boutique luxury apartments available with three or four bedrooms. Housed in a striking geometric structure with granite clad detailing and lime-washed wooden decorative elements, the apartments offer stylish open-plan living and start at US$ 225,000.

Community

The development aims to not just offer a place to live, but also a way of life. Infrastructure is in place to help build a community here and ensure residents are safe and supported. Amenities planned include a school, community mosque, hospital, sports centre, amusement and water park, retail spaces and commercial buildings. At the heart of this neighbourhood planning is the seafront corniche that spans the entire length of the development. It includes a walking and jogging track, retail shops, food kiosks and restaurants, children’s play areas, sitting areas, an amphitheatre and public parking.

Utilities

Fumba Uptown Living has its own electricity substation on the complex, which supplies up to 20 MW of power. It also has its own water purifying plant with a storage capacity of close to three millionlitres of drinking water. All properties are also connectedto underground drainage channels.

The development aims to not just offer a place to live, but also a way of life. Infrastructure is in place to help build a community here and ensure residents are safe and supported

Neighbouring communities

Fumba Uptown Living is not theonly major development on thepeninsula. Fumba Town is just acouple of kilometres away with itslush landscape – which surroundsits villas and apartments – testamentto the permaculture ideals it wasfounded upon.

The developments are within easy reach of each other soresidents can enjoy the amenitiesof both discrete communities.At Fumba Town this includes apermaculture farm that sells its ownproduce at its on-site shop or willdeliver regular ‘pakacha’ vegetablebaskets to your doorstep; anexcellent café selling freshly mademeals and a live music venue withrecent acts including taarab royaltySiti Muhuram.

Already a creative communityis growing in the area and it evennow has its own newspaper, theFumba Times.

The company behind the development

The project is the brainchild ofBakhresa Group and is being realizedby Union Property Developers,a subsidiary of Azam Bakhresa.

It is being personally overseenby the conglomerate’s founderand chairman Said Salim Bakhresa.He and Bakhresa Group haveendeavoured to introduce a uniqueresidential community concept in Zanzibar that will provide a luxurious lifestyle for its residents and support local industry and the community. The project was conceived with the input of an international consultant team comprised of several renowned professionals and subject matter experts from various design disciplines that include architects, interior designers, engineers, landscape architects and urban planners.

How to buy

To find out more about Fumba Uptown Living and the payment plans and special offers available, head to its webiste fumbauptown. com, call +255 776 050 304, email fumbauptown@bakhresa.com or visit the sales office within the complex in Fumba.

As Fumba has been designated a Free Economic Zone, non-residents are allowed to invest and can benefit from buyer incentives such as residency permits on purchase and waived capital gains tax.

FUMBA UPTOWN LIVING FACTS

Plot size: 180 acres

Number of properties: Approximately 300 villas and 250 apartments once completed

Connections: The development is linked to the capital by a 15km asphalt road network

Price range: US$ 125,000 to US$500,000

Distance from Stone Town: 20 km

Stand-out features:

• Seafront promenade with shops, children’s playground and jogging track

• Fully-fitted kitchen included with all properties.

• Beachside living

• Has its own water and electricity plants supplying up to 20 megawatt of power and three million litres of drinking water.