A line of work, drawn year by year.
Brand-building in real estate is not a sprint. The first project is the only proof point; everything else is narrative. DEMAR is a young firm — we have not been here for thirty years. We have, however, been here for every week since the first plot in Westlands was signed for, and the record below is the one we will keep publishing whether the news is good or quiet.
Year by year
From founding in 2022 to handover in Q2 2029, and the projects that follow.
- 2022 · Founded
DEMAR Properties Limited.
Erik Søndergaard founds DEMAR Properties Limited in Nairobi after nineteen years across Copenhagen and Nairobi residential development. The thesis is single-sentence: design-led premium residential, debt-free, delivered with Danish craft discipline against Nairobi's premium-promise gap.
- 2023 · Studio established
The DEMAR design studio opens in Nairobi.
Lars-Henrik Mortensen relocates from Copenhagen and founds the DEMAR design studio in Nairobi. Annika Lindgren joins as Director of Design Operations. One studio, one signature, one accountable architect on every drawing.
- 2024 Q1 · Plot acquired
Raptor Road, Westlands.
LR No. 1870/IV/237. Title clean, debt-free acquisition. The first DEMAR project takes the name The Dagaz — Old Norse rune for dawn — and is sized at eighteen floors and ninety-two residences.
- 2024 Q3 · Site mobilisation
Hoarding raised on Raptor Road.
Site mobilised and hoarding raised. “Designed by DEMAR” carved into the streetside fascia. The first photograph in the public construction log is taken the same week.
- 2024 Q4 · Excavation complete
−11.5m, P3 level reached.
Excavation reaches −11.5m at P3 level. Photographed weekly. The first investor and reserver milestone is closed at this stage; first cohort of buyer deposits is lodged with Stanmore Trust Kenya Limited.
- 2025 Q1 · Foundations and raft slab
Joseph K. Otieno, MICE, appointed.
Foundations poured and raft slab cast. Joseph K. Otieno, MICE, is appointed site engineer and signs the first written milestone log entry. Knight Mwangi Quantity Surveyors counter-sign the first construction draw.
- 2025 Q3 · EDGE registration filed
EDGE-KE-2025-00148.
IFC EDGE Advanced registration filed and accepted under reference EDGE-KE-2025-00148. Auditor: GEcon Africa. Targets are published before the audit, not after: 40% energy, 35% water, 25% embodied carbon.
- 2025 Q4 · Floors 1–4 cast
First vertical visible on Raptor Road.
Floors one through four cast. The first vertical concrete is visible from Raptor Road and the construction log moves from substructure to superstructure cadence.
- 2026 Q1 · Floors 5–8 cast
Petersen Tegl façade samples installed.
Floors five through eight cast. Petersen Tegl long-format brick façade samples are installed for review at the site. The first investor delegation visits.
- 2026 Q2 · Floors 9–12 cast
Current phase. First reservers meet the architect.
Floors nine through twelve cast — current as of May 2026. The first cohort of reservers is introduced to Lars-Henrik Mortensen at the sales gallery. Cal.com booking opens for diaspora video viewings.
- 2026 Q3 · Floors 13–16 (planned)
Topping-out begins.
Floors thirteen through sixteen planned. Topping-out approach begins. Façade installation sequencing is finalised with Petersen Tegl ahead of the 2027 envelope phase.
- 2026 Q4 · Crown completed
Twin arches and rooftop pool deck cast.
Crown completed: twin arches and rooftop pool deck cast. Building reaches full structural height. Crane retracted at year-end.
- 2027 · Façade and envelope
Petersen Tegl install.
Petersen Tegl long-format brick installed across the façade. Schüco AWS 75 SI+ low-iron triple-glazed windows set on every aperture. Building goes from concrete to enclosed.
- 2028 · Interior fit-out
Bulthaup, Vola, Antoniolupi, white oak.
Interior fit-out year. Bulthaup b3 kitchens, Vola hardware at the basin and shower, Antoniolupi in the bathrooms, white oak joinery throughout. Tolerances enforced at -2/+2mm on every joinery joint.
- Q2 2029 · Practical completion
Handover begins.
Practical completion and handover to first residents and to Westgate Living Management on a 10-year service-level agreement. Twenty-four-month defects warranty begins on the day each owner takes the keys.
- Phase 2 · Lavington
Site under contract.
Phase 2 site is under contract in Lavington. Studio scoping has begun. The project name is disclosed at first investor close, not before. Same SPV-and-escrow architecture as The Dagaz; same architect, same studio.
- Phase 3 · Karen
Under preliminary review.
Phase 3 is under preliminary review in Karen — the Nairobi suburb named after Karen Blixen. Sequenced after Lavington reaches sales-launch milestone. We are building a developer, not a fund. Our ambition is not to be the biggest developer in Nairobi. It is to be the one whose buildings people recognise before they see the sign.
We publish what we promise. Then we publish whether we kept it. The building is not finished when the keys are issued; it is finished when it has done its job for the second generation of residents.
See what is on site this month.
The construction log is published monthly, signed by Joseph K. Otieno, MICE. It runs in the same cadence as this journey, and it is the place to start if you want to verify a single line of it.