US sells Mumbai property to Lodha for Rs 341.82 cr

MUMBAI: The three-storey residential building ‘Washington House’  at the Altamount Road held by United States consulate now has been bought by Lodha Group at a huge price of Rs 341.82 crore, the company announced today.

Lodha will build a 30-storey tower housing sea-view apartments, the developer said. The project will be launched in March 2013. Property prices in Altamount Road currently range between Rs 80,000 per sq ft and Rs 110,000 per sq ft.

Lodha acquires US consulate building in Mumbai (white building in front of Ambani's Antilla).

ET had reported the deal between the two parties first on June 16, after the two agreed to the terms of the deal.

The property, where the US consulate officials used to reside, had a reserve price of Rs 350 crore and was one of two marquee properties the US government put up for sale in Mumbai, where property prices have shot up over the past few years.

The consulate had moved into its new premises in the Bandra-Kurla complex last year. Following this, both Lincoln House and Washington House were put on the block.

Tata Housing Development Company, according to sources, has emerged as the highest bidder for the Lincoln House property with a bid of Rs 850 crore. Tata Housing officials, however, declined to comment.

Lodha Group, which recently also bought a prime Lower Parel land parcel from India’s biggest builder DLF, has finalized the plan for development of a super-luxury, high-rise residential tower on the plot after demolishing the existing three-storey residential structure. The tower is being designed by Iranian born German architect, Hadi Teherani.

The structure at Altamount Road covers an area of 2,702 sq meters and is listed as a grade III property falling under Coastal Regulatory Zone II, the developer said in a release. The plot will have total development potential of 1.2 lakh sq ft.