Central Mumbai’s skyline, which was once dominated by smoke-spewing chimneys of the erstwhile textile mills, is being transformed as glistening new steel-and-glass towers are coming up at a fast pace
Text: Nithin Rao
Pics: Parita Shah
CENTRAL Mumbai, which stretches from Haji Ali and Byculla in the south to Sion and Mahim in the north, is today one of the most vibrant real estate markets in India. Traditionally, central Mumbai included the sprawling textile district (known as ‘girangaon’), covering 600 acres of prime land in the heart of the metropolis, vast swathes of the 1,850-acre docklands and about 100 acres of chawls in Worli.
About half a century ago, central
Mumbai was home for about 130 textile mills, their stately chimneys spewing smoke as 250,000 workers operated the machines round-the-clock, producing millions of metres of textiles. But with wages soaring in Mumbai, many of the mill-owners decided to relocate their manufacturing operations to other emerging textile hubs elsewhere in India.
A prolonged textile workers’ strike in the early 1980s spelt the death-knell of the industry. Most of the
mills shut down operations and nearly a quarter million jobs were lost. The decrepit mills languished for more than a decade, before the Maharashtra government gradually gave them permission to sell their land to developers.
The last 15 years have seen most of the prominent mills – including state-owned National Textile Corporation – sell off their land at fancy prices to developers. Consequently, the chimneys have been replaced
with glistening steel-and-glass towers. Many of the buildings soar 40 to 80 floors (see box) and are have fancy price tags.
Property prices in central Mumbai range from INR 25,000 to INR 60,000 a sq ft, though there are some apartments in exclusive buildings that are even more dearer. The construction of the Bandra-Worli sealink has seen many luxury projects coming up in and around Worli.
India’s leading bespoke lifestyle developer, Provenance Land (formerly Magus Estates), is promoting an exclusive complex adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts at Worli. Says Adarsh Jatia, CEO and managing director, Provenance Land: “Our 55-storeyed Four Seasons Private Residences Mumbai will be the first-ever branded luxury residential development in Mumbai.”
UBER-LUXURY PROJECTS
The company is putting up just 26 apartments in the tower, which occupies a one-acre plot of land. Apartments are priced at between `300 million and `1 billion in the uber-luxury project in the heart of Mumbai. According to Jatia, some of the best providers of creative and technical expertise are associated with the project. They include the San Francisco team of international architecture firm Gensler (who designed the stunning Shanghai Tower), New York-based interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg and landscape architecture studio P Landscape from Bangkok.
Another prestigious project that is coming up in central Mumbai is World Towers, a trinity of towers, the tallest being World One, which at 117 floors will be the tallest residential tower in the world, according to the Lodha group, the developers. The other two towers are World View and World Crest.
The company has been marketing apartments in London, New York, Dubai and other international cities, targeting affluent NRIs. While three and four-bedroom apartments will cost about INR 150 million and INR 200 million, high-end villas in the sky will sell for more than a billion rupees.
Other uber-luxury apartment complexes in central Mumbai – where potential customers are ‘invited’ for a dekko – include Monte South, being developed by Adani Realty and Marathon, and Ahuja Towers. The views from most of these high-rise buildings is spectacular – to the west is the Arabian Sea and to the east are the ports and the sea, besides the mountain.
With Mumbai’s commercial and financial hub shifting from the south – places such as Nariman Point, Fort and Ballard Estate – to the north including the prime Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), central Mumbai localities are emerging as attractive residential hubs. Interestingly, there is tremendous scope for new developments in this growth hub.
One such area is the nearly 100 acres of land in Worli occupied by the BDD (Bombay Development Directorate) chawls, developed more than 80 years ago by the British rulers before independence. There are more than 200 buildings in the BDD complex. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), a state government agency, is expected to be the nodal agency for implementing the redevelopment project.
According to Ravindra Waikar, a Shiv Sena legislator and minister of state for housing, the government might opt for the cluster redevelopment model. There are about 16,000 tenants living in the complex.
EASTERN WATERFRONT
Another vast swathe of land that could come up for redevelopment is the eastern waterfront, comprising about 1,850 acres of land owned by the Bombay Port Trust. The construction of the Eastern Freeway, which links south Mumbai to Chembur – motorists can zip along this excellent freeway, covering a distance of 20 km in just about 20 minutes – has thrown open possibilities for development of docklands.
Most of the land is lying idle and Mumbai’s port activities have also shifted eastwards to Nhava-Sheva. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting his budget on February 28, mentioned that the government would like all the major ports – run by port trusts – to become commercial entities.
Many MPs and MLAs from Mumbai have also been seeking the land locked up under the BPT for redevelopment. Nitin Gadkari, the transport and shipping minister, wants the excess land of the port to be developed. The possible projects include a convention centre, marina for private yachts, passenger service terminals and gardens and parks.
Another emerging residential hub in central Mumbai is Wadala, which is one of the few planned localities in the metropolis. Indeed, the very first planned scheme in the city, undertaken by the Bombay City Improvement Trust in the late 19th century was the Dadar-Matunga-Wadala-Sion scheme. The scheme was executed on 450 acres of land and housing cooperatives were developed for the first time in Bombay. The Parsi and Hindu colonies were among the first to be built here.
Even today, areas like Wadala are known for the numerous gymkhanas, parks and gardens and the wide roads. Of course, during the monsoons, many parts of central Mumbai get flooded because of basin-like feature of the area.
Om Ahuja, CEO, residential services, JLL India, notes that Wadala gained prominence as a residential destination because of its proximity to the BKC. With several infrastructure initiatives such as the Chembur-Wadala monorail and the Eastern Freeway, Wadala saw a rapid increase in residential demand, resulting in the doubling of property values over the last three years.
“Proximity to BKC and the development of the locality into a major commercial area have been the main demand magnets at Wadala, which has seen massive spill-over demand from the more expensive central locations around it,” says Ahuja. “Improved connectivity through the Kurla-Santacruz Flyover, Anik-Panjarpol Link Road, Byculla Bridge and Masjid Bridge are added advantages for the residents of Wadala.”
IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY
The Chembur-Jacob Circle mono rail project (the first phase of which ends at Wadala) has improved connectivity to the area. The planned roll out of phase II of the project will help in improving connectivity of this area with Lower Parel, the other emerging central business district of Mumbai. “This phase, which should become operational in 2016, will provide very effective connectivity between Wadala and Lower Parel, Jacob Circle and Mahalaxmi and will play a big role in price appreciation,” notes Ahuja.
This part of central Mumbai is also home to several leading educational institutions including the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), the Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly known as the University Institute of Chemical Technology), Khalsa College, Dr. Ambedkar Commerce & Law College and SNDT Women’s University.
Property prices in Wadala have flared in recent years. According to Ahuja, just a decade ago, property prices in Wadala were as low as INR 2,800 a sq ft. They shot up to INR 14,000 a few years ago, but with the announcement of development projects, many people from south Mumbai started relocating to Wadala. Today, property prices are in the region of INR 20,000 a sq ft, an appreciation of 133 per cent over the last half decade.
But more developments are in the offing, which would boost property prices even further. One of the most significant – though long-delayed – project is the Sewri-Nhava-Sheva trans-harbour link. This new bridge across the eastern seaboard of Mumbai would cut travel time between south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, saving time for motorists heading to Pune, Goa and Bangalore.
The new international airport at Panvel will also come up just across the harbour; the new trans-harbour link will provide excellent connectivity to the airport from this part of central Mumbai.
Another major development will be the development of the additional lines of Mumbai Metro, which would include the underground sections and links from Wadala to Thane and Colaba to Seepz. Developments over the next five to 10 years would trigger off tremendous demand for real estate – both residential and commercial) in central Mumbai, leading to skyrocketing prices.