Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA: Street Guide

Isaac John Street is the main commercial street of Ikeja GRA, the Government Reserved Area of Ikeja, in Ikeja Local Government Area on the Lagos mainland. It is entered from Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way and runs through the GRA, lined with restaurants, hotels, banks and offices. It is the busiest street in an otherwise quiet, low-density estate, so property on it is priced mainly as commercial space, while the residential streets behind it carry some of the highest rents on the mainland.

Where Isaac John Street is

Ikeja GRA is the planned, low-density estate of Ikeja, laid out with wide, tree-lined roads and large plots. Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way runs along one side of it, and that is the side from which most people enter Isaac John Street. From there the street runs through the estate towards the Oba Akinjobi Way side of the GRA. The background to the estate, its housing and its prices is in the Ikeja GRA guide.

The residential character of the GRA begins almost as soon as you turn off Isaac John Street. Joel Ogunnaike Street, Oduduwa Crescent, Sobo Arobiodu Street and Ladoke Akintola Street are among the well-known GRA streets nearby, and they are much quieter, with detached houses and managed apartment compounds behind high walls.

The airport, Maryland and the Ikeja business streets are all reached from Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, which is one reason hotels have clustered on and around Isaac John Street. For how Ikeja as a whole fits into the city, see is Ikeja mainland or island?

What is on Isaac John Street

The frontage is commercial almost throughout. Restaurants, cafes, bakeries, lounges and bars are the most visible uses, and they have made the street the main dining strip of the Lagos mainland. Alongside them are hotels and serviced apartments, bank branches, corporate and professional offices, private clinics, pharmacies, spas, boutiques and serviced office buildings.

Most of these premises stand on plots that once held single family houses. Some of the original houses have been converted; many have been replaced by purpose-built low and mid-rise commercial buildings. The pattern continues, and it is the reason land on the street changes hands at commercial rather than residential values.

The street has a long day. Offices and clinics fill it on weekdays, and the restaurants and lounges keep it busy in the evening and at weekends, when parking along the road and in the compounds is at its tightest.

What property is like, and what it costs

There are no dependable rent figures for Isaac John Street alone, so use the indicative annual ranges for Ikeja GRA:

• Ikeja GRA 2-bedroom apartment (executive): ₦2,000,000 – ₦4,000,000 per annum
• Ikeja GRA 3-bedroom apartment: ₦3,000,000 – ₦6,000,000 per annum
• Ikeja GRA 3-bedroom semi-detached or terrace house: ₦4,000,000 – ₦8,000,000 per annum
• Ikeja GRA 4 to 5-bedroom detached house: ₦7,000,000 – ₦20,000,000 per annum

For homes, Isaac John Street itself sits in the middle of those ranges rather than at the top. Apartments on or facing the street are convenient and usually well serviced, but they take the noise and traffic of the commercial strip, and the premium in the GRA is paid for quiet. The upper end of each range belongs to newly built or fully renovated homes on the calm streets and crescents behind it, with reliable backup power, treated water, staff quarters and generous parking. Older, unrenovated houses sit at the lower end wherever they are.

Commercial space is a separate market. Shops, restaurant units, office floors and whole buildings on Isaac John Street are priced by frontage, visibility and parking, and they are among the most expensive commercial premises on the mainland. Service charges on managed buildings are paid on top of the rent.

To see what is available now, browse flats for rent in Ikeja GRA, houses for rent in Ikeja GRA or 3-bedroom flats for rent in Ikeja. For a stay of a few nights or weeks, see short lets in Ikeja.

Getting around from Isaac John Street

Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way is the main road out, towards the airport in one direction and Maryland and Ikorodu Road in the other. Most residents and visitors drive or use ride-hailing cars; commercial buses and tricycles work the main roads on the edge of the GRA rather than its inner streets. The junction with Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way is the usual slow point at peak hours, and the street itself is slowest on Friday and weekend evenings.

Who Isaac John Street suits

• Restaurants, hotels, clinics and retailers that want the best-known commercial frontage in the GRA
• Corporate and professional firms that want a prestigious mainland office close to the airport
• Executives and frequent travellers who want a serviced apartment within walking distance of restaurants
• Investors in serviced apartments and short-let units aimed at business visitors

Families who want the GRA for its calm usually choose a street behind Isaac John rather than the street itself. Renters whose budget does not reach the GRA should compare the busy mid-market streets across Ikeja: Allen Avenue, Toyin Street and Opebi Road.

What to check before you rent or buy

• Noise and hours: visit on a Friday or Saturday evening if the property is on or just behind the strip.
• Parking: confirm the spaces that come with the unit, and for a business, where customers will park.
• Approved use: confirm that the building has approval for the use you intend, residential or commercial.
• Service charge: ask for the written breakdown, the generator hours and who pays for diesel.
• Title, for a purchase: have a solicitor search the title at the Lagos State Lands Registry at Alausa before you pay anything.

Own a home, office or shop in the GRA? List your property on Cabans and put the street name in the title so the right tenants find it.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Isaac John Street?

Isaac John Street is in Ikeja GRA, the Government Reserved Area of Ikeja, in Ikeja Local Government Area on the Lagos mainland. It is entered from Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way and runs through the GRA, with residential streets such as Joel Ogunnaike Street, Oduduwa Crescent, Sobo Arobiodu Street and Ladoke Akintola Street close by.

Which local government is Isaac John Street under?

Isaac John Street, like the rest of Ikeja GRA, is under Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State.

What is Isaac John Street known for?

It is the main commercial street of Ikeja GRA. Restaurants, cafes, lounges, hotels, bank branches, corporate offices, clinics and serviced office buildings line it, which makes it the dining and business strip of the GRA and one of the best-known evening destinations on the mainland.

Do people live on Isaac John Street?

Some do, mostly in apartment blocks and serviced flats, but the frontage is largely commercial. Most GRA residents live on the quieter streets and crescents behind it, in detached houses, terraces and managed apartment compounds.

How much is rent around Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA?

There are no dependable figures for the street alone. Indicative annual rents in Ikeja GRA are about ₦2,000,000–₦4,000,000 for an executive 2-bedroom apartment, ₦3,000,000–₦6,000,000 for a 3-bedroom apartment and ₦7,000,000–₦20,000,000 for a 4 to 5-bedroom detached house.

Is Isaac John Street a good place for a business?

Yes, for businesses that depend on visibility and an upmarket clientele: restaurants, hotels, clinics, professional firms and corporate offices. Frontage here is priced as prime commercial space, and parking for customers should be settled before a lease is signed.

Related guides

Browse the area on Cabans: Ikeja GRA area page, Ikeja area page, properties in Ikeja. Related guides: Ikeja GRA area guide, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja. For every district on this side of the city, see areas in Lagos Mainland.