By Ayobami Ife, Abeokuta
ABEOKUTA: Barely 24 hours after it commenced shot let services for apartments at the Ecostay Apartments, an emerging Smart City at Masa – Kobape corridor of Ogun State, Pelican Valley has recorded a rush of subscriptions by clients who have booked the available facilities fully till February, 2025.
Ecostay Apartments considered as the flagship of Pelican Valley Limited’s real estate products, was inaugurated last September 11 where the major road leading to this technology – driven eco – friendly and novel habitat was named after former Governor Aremo Olusegun Osoba, to honour him for his exemplary rural development initiatives while in office as Governor of Ogun State.
Fielding questions from real estate reporters on Saturday, December 21, about the magic behind the influx of clients and subsequent full booking of apartments within the Ecostay Apartments at short notice, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, Ambassador (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, said the secret lies in the fact that all the firm’s projects have always been strategy – driven.
Adeyemo, a top – notch real estate entrepreneur said the firm does not venture into any project without first conducting informed research to determine its viability and market, explaining that the market for the short let service at the Ecostay Apartments is already on ground before its take off.
He said that the affordability of the apartment by clients, even when the luxury and comfort it offers demanded that the prices ought to be on the high side, is also another valid reason the Ecostay Apartments witnessed the full booking. 
He noted that a two – bedroom apartment, ensuite and equipped with modern technology, electricity in an environment with five armed security guards, CCTV among other trappings, goes for N50K per night.
According to him, the multiple awards winning real estate firm is leveraging on the needs of almost 900 Nigerians in diaspora, who have already keyed into the Pelican Brief project as well as the opportunities which the industrial and agrarian area of Kobape corridor have provided to commence the short – let apartments service.
He said, “All our projects are always strategically driven. We planned very well before before embarking on any developmental project and we have done our research by fact that we have almost 900 Nigerians in diaspora who have keyed into the Pelican Brief rejects. That singular pool prepared a ready made market for us because these our brothers and sisters abroad will come and monitor their projects, while monitoring, they need comfortable and secure place to stay around.
“You know Kobape is like an industrial and agrarian zone of Ogun State where we have a lot of industries and agric farm settlements and most of the farms and industries are owned by expatriates and Nigerians in diaspora who would want a luxurious place very close to their projects. At the same time, the expatriates in those industries in and around Kobape corridor will also be looking for a modern area with facilities to stay. That is our target.”
Asked how many apartments are available at the facility presently, the real estate Czar says, he loves to start small and grow from there with time, standard and due diligence as it was in the case with his pioneer real estate projects.
“I’m a kind of person that love to start small and grow from there. Presently we just started with a fully furnished two – bedroom apartment and we are working on another one. The one on ground now has been booked till February 2025 but in a week or two away, we will be through with additional apartments. The furnishing will be completed in two weeks time. We also have other few apartments which are fully paid for.
“So, we are targeting about 10 apartments between this outgoing December and first quarter of 2025. So, Pelican Ecostay Apartments is a project, fortified with lots of exotic luxuries in an environment where nature itself meets luxury. The ambience is full of nature. A look at our rooms you will see that they’re exquisite and tastefully finished. We have 24hrs unlimited Internet and WiFi connection services there coupled with smart TVs. 
“We have a washing machine and deep freezer for chilling. We have made provisions for private chef. We have a contract with a chef who will cook whatever you want as your meals, package and store. For recreation, we have a lawn tennis court there, a basketball court and table tennis court as well as picnic tent – a grill machine and a super sound system for client who want to have a short party. We also have a binocular one can use for viewing places away from where they are. We have a camel for your tourist attraction and we are bringing in peacocks and some other things.
“And because of our Ecostay Apartments, we have also prepared a nursery for various kinds of vegetables, pepers, we want to start rearing snails for our consumption there, we want to start rearing grass cutters too for clients and guests that want bush meat, we want rear rabbits too for our clients consumption. We have ultramodern inbuilt kitchen with all facilities. Just get in there everything that you need to get a quality life moving is already there in the Ecostay Apartments. We have five armed security guards there and CCTV camera all round the Ecostay Apartments. So, even from Pelican Valley I can monitor what is happening in Ecostay Apartments. It is a fully secure environment. We have the Gardner’s and other manpower to make the place comfortable for clients and potential subscribers. We also have short -let apartments in Pelican Valley Estate, Laderin as well.
“Pelican Ecostay Apartments is a sure buy for any of our existing and potential subscribers. The market is there just like Pelican Valley Greenish Acre Farm Estate, we sell Greenish Acres Farm in acres and we have less than 100 acres there which means we need just 100 clients to buy up the Green Acres Farm Estate, whereas we have about 900 clients in the Pelican Brief who are all interested. So, by the time we started the Greenish Acre Farm Estate, we have already sold out because we have enough customers and demands to take care of the total sales of the Greenish Acres Farm Estate, just like the short let apartments that we have now, we need about 20 short let apartments for a start but presently we have just 6 units, which is the reason the ones available have now been booked till February next year.
“I know by the time we complete the second apartment, it will be fully booked and the third and fourth will also be fully booked. So, it is an opportunity for anyone to have a rental income and the luxury there.
“On the cost of the apartments, they are relatively cheap compared to the facilities there. In apartment where we have almost all the facilities you can think of. For a two bedroom apartment, it is just N50K per night. It is relatively good. The electricity is there with a 500 kv electrictransformer, the solar inverter is there. We have a lot of internal game facilities and also for outdoor games. All our rooms are ensuite with air conditioner. It is full lot of luxury in a serene environment.
“So, we using this opportunity to call on more Nigerians at home and diaspora to key into this project. It is a wonderful opportunity. No one will regret it because by January, those that want to buy service plot allotments, the prices of our land in Pelican Brief will have gone up from N7.5m to N10m Naira. And by the first quarter of next year, our Ecostay Apartments prices will also increase and because of the inflationary trend, we will review our prices upward for our houses in Ecostay Apartments. This is just the right time for any prospective and potential customer to take advantage of.”
