Arakawa Resident, or residences is a very quintessentially Khmer development. Lots of tower blocks up to the 12 floor mark that were built in super quick time and sold as shells.
Said shells were then turned into houses while the 1st floor, long time empty has now started to full up with shops. And this has all been an organic part of the housing market that is creating a new middle-class in Cambodia.
What the Arakawa?
Located out towards the airport it is equidistant between the riverside and the center of Phnom Penh costing about $2 by TukTuk.
It is also only $3-4 away from the airport, so overall a pretty good location. To start with there was very little here, but this has slowly grown.
Arakawa Resident Address;
#24, St. 360, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 1, Khan Boeung Kang Kang, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Can you buy at Arakawa Resident?
You most certainly can and not only that, but this is perhaps one of the hottest places in the capital that you can buy in right now. Units cost anywhere from about $30,000 with the option to pay two years and then the balance, or get a loan.
And yes foreigners can buy here. You can read about buying property in Cambodia here – you can read about buying a unit here on this link.
Street Food Arakawa Resident
When I left to do the Least Visited Countries Tour the place was empty, yet on my return much of the ground floor had been decorated with shops, offices, banks (well Wing Bank) and restaurants.
The scene outside of the development was also much more raw with street food carts now moving in to deal with the increased food traffic to the place. These include all manor of fruit drinks, but most excitingly Khmer BBQ.
Restaurant wise the ground floor now offers truly eclectic range of stuff from site down noodles to Khmer burgers in the food court area. Ima guessing it is not the best burger in Phnom Penh.
I also yesterday noticed a Khmer Pizza joint, although I am yet to try this one out….
Overall though life at Arakawa Resident is very much alive and well!