Real estate in Mumbai goes vertical

 

The city’s skyline is soaring upwards. More than a decade ago, the first skyscraper graced the Mumbai horizon. Called the Shreepati Arcade, this 500-foot-high 45-storied tower sprouted up at Nana Chowk in Grant Road in 2002. Now, a decade later, skyscrapers have nearly turned common-place in a city quickly growing vertically. More than 50 towers with 60 floors and upwards are under construction. Many more that have crossed the 70 meter mark are showing up across Mumbai. And this isn’t particularly surprising, as empty plots in Mumbai turn rarer by the day. So, instead of spreading out horizontally, the city has begun to take to the skies instead, increasing the availability of  property in Mumbai substantially.

Areas in South Mumbai, particularly Lalbaug, Parel and Sewri, have undergone a tremendous makeover in the last few years. Once home to mill workers and lower-income groups, these areas now boast high-rises with residential apartments priced at around Rs. 5 crore! Lower Parel, yet another quickly growing neighborhood, currently plays home to the 65-storied Indiabulls Sky and the 75-storied tower at the Jupiter Mills. Worli on the other hand has the 80-storied Raheja Platinum, while the 55-storied Lodha Bellissimo graces the Mahalaxmi skyline.

Says Hafeez Contractor, an architect known to reach for the sky, “Mumbai has a population of 20 million and but its area is only 470sqkm. When you are looking at such a large population over a small area of land, vertical is the only way to go.” According to Contractor, the city will cross the 30 million population mark in the future and to cope with it all, real estate in Mumbai needs to grow vertically. “How will Mumbai deal with such an increase (Population)? The only answer is to increase the FSI (Floor Space Index). Only when we do this will the city gets on its own feet and earns enough to create the infrastructure that will be needed to sustain this vertical growth.”

It’s time more real estate developers in Mumbai begin adding-on the floors instead of spreading around. After-all, the future lies in the sky and a perpendicularly growing city is a mark of opulence! To know more about commercial offices, shops and residential apartments located in skyscrapers and high-rises in the city, visit www.snapghar.com today!

Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment, a step away from reality! redevelopment, a step away from reality!

The redevelopment of certain pockets of Mumbai has long since been on everyone’s mind. As space crunches in the heart of the city turn common, the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) came up with a fool-proof plan to tidy up the Bhendi Bazaar area in 2009. Now a step away from being turned into a reality, the move will make prime property in Mumbai more affordable and accessible to the middle-class population of the city. The plan was crafted by the spiritual leader Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin and has been granted green clearance by the State Environment Appraisal Committee-2 (SEAC-2). The Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust will now approach the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority for the final nod after which the project will begin.

The redevelopment will be spread over more than 14 acres in Bhendi Bazaar. As part of the plan, old and rundown structures in Bhendi Bazaar will be brought down. They will be replaced by buildings standing up to 62 floors high! And that’s not all. The new Bhendi Bazaar will play home to about 700 or more trees and will boast wide roads and open recreational areas. Holistically, the redevelopment project will compromise nine clusters which will include these proposed structures. Also, the four existing mosques in the area will be retained. Those living in the area will be moved to transit camps in Sewri and Mazgaon until the project is completed.

This redevelopment project will be a one-of-a-kind plan and will sway towards the greener side. These new structures that will include residential, commercial and recreational facilities will be eco-friendly. The skyscrapers will be built in the direction of the wind-tunnel, helping the increase of circulation of breeze and pushing away the need of switching on air-conditioners during the hotter months. With roughly about Rs. 2,000-crore being spent on the project, this redevelopment of the Bhendi Bazaar area will give South Mumbai a new face.