Omkar Developers begins redevelopment of Majas and Mogra slums in Mumbai

 One of Mumbai's most dense and largest residential slum pockets spanning 70 acres - village Majas and Mogra (Majaswadi and Meghwadi) housing about 70,000 slum dwellers, after decades of uncertainty on redevelopment front, finally saw the dawn of redevelopment.

The Gandhinagar belt of the slum pocket, located at the Jogeshwari East belt off Western Express Highway, has witnessed the commencement of Phase 1 of redevelopment process with a Bhoomi Pujan recently in presence of the State Housing Minister Ravindra Waikar and over 3,000 residents.

Being redeveloped under the SRA scheme by city's leading slum rehabilitation firm Omkar Realtors & Developers, the Gandhinagar area has a 5,000-strong slum population spanning over 3 acres.

According to company's Managing Director Babulal Varma, Omkar has already rehabilitated over 50,000 slum residents across Mumbai city with quality housing and currently enjoys consent of more than 10,000 residents in the Jogeshwari East slum pocket.

"Our vision is to create a smart city in this vital micro market, a first for any SRA project and a life transforming initiative for the existing slum population whom we look forward to complete support," Varma added.

He further stated that Omkar has deployed the latest construction technologies for all its rehabilitation towers across Mumbai city and is confident of housing residents of Majaswadi and Meghwadi in record timelines in phases. The company had constructed one of its 23-storeyed rehab towers at its Goregaon East SRA project within a record time of six months last year.

The constituency of village Mogra and Majas, whereby Omkar has commenced redevelopment, is a conglomeration of 30 slum housing societies with a majority of Muslim and Maharashtrian communities.

One of the largest slum pockets, after Dharavi, the Majas and Mogra slums have been long considered as one of the most backward slum pockets of the city with any form of redevelopment initiative failing to take off since decades.

Presently, Omkar post its presence in this slum pocket since second half of 2015, enjoys a strong support base of the 70,000-strong community.

Considering its size and density, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had commenced its landmark programme of 'Door-to-Door Biometric Slum Hutment Survey' at village Mogra and Majas in December 2015. The on-going survey is a first-ever kind of an initiative towards empowering the city's slum population to establish their residence proofs and provide them the 'Right of Residence'. The survey is aimed at ensuring rehabilitation of slums, hutments in a proper and systematic manner for achieving the state government' 'Slum Free Mumbai' vision by 2022.

Omkar is currently working towards rehabilitating more than 2 lakh slum dwellers by 2020 across Mumbai city. The biggest of its SRA projects are being constructed by the country's leading construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and it has also deployed the most advanced engineering technologies from global markets for time-bound deliveries. 

Warburg Pincus to Invest INR 1800cr in Piramal Realty

Piramal Realty, the Mumbai-based real estate development arm of Piramal Group, has  announced that the company is poised to receive a funding of INR 1800 crore from the leading global private equity fund Warburg Pincus which will seek minority stake in the company.

Commenting on the transaction, Anand Piramal, Piramal Group's Executive Director, said, "We are proud to partner with one of the world's leading private equity firms to build India's most admired real estate company, admired not just for its scale and profitability,

Niten Malhan, Co-Head of India, Warburg Pincus stated, "Warburg Pincus invests in companies with high growth potential and believes that Piramal Realty is best positioned to achieve leadership in one of the world's most attractive real estate markets. Piramal Group's strengths such as its strong values, its track record of creating long term value for stakeholders, its trusted brand, its ability to recruit great people, its emphasis on customer centricity and its reputation as strong deal makers are some of the reasons why the firm chose to invest in Piramal Realty."

Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group added, "We are delighted to partner with Warburg Pincus for a second time: the first was when they invested in Piramal Healthcare in 1997, and now with Piramal Realty. Warburg Pincus' investment and expertise will raise the level of real estate in India to international standards, as it has done in other industries such as telecom, financial services and pharmaceuticals."

Founded in 2011, Piramal Realty has over 10 million square feet under development in prime areas of Byculla, Thane, Worli, BKC and Mulund.

Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than US$35 billion in assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 120 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography.

Luxury unlimited: Mumbai tower to have private pool on every balcony

Mumbai: Going a step further in offering luxury living in India, a developer in Mumbai has offered a private balcony pool to each home of a multi-story ultra-luxury residential apartment it is constructing in Bandra.

Bandra Ohm, a 30-story tower with 100 ultra-luxury residential units, will be made in such way that each crescent-shaped balcony of an apartment will have a pool made of acrylic (the material used in aquariums).

Being designed by Hong Kong-based firm James Law Cybertecture, the building with private swimming pools offers a new definition to the luxury living in high-rise buildings.

Though a lot questions come to the mind with regard to the sustainability, durability of buildings, replacement of water in swimming pools, etc, the new ‘balcony pool’ concept has indeed attracted the attention of property enthusiasts and high-end property buyers in Mumbai.

A Wall Street Journal report quoting James Law Cybertecture having said that, "The design concept of the tower is inspired by the ripple effect generated by water droplets, which is also known as the capillary wave."

The ripple creates an empty space at the center of the building, where the builders have built a specially designed clubhouse.

But this is not the first of its kind development that will have a private swimming pool in each balcony. A 35-story residential complex in Kuala Lumpur has 94 Apartments and 95 Swimming Pools. In Bahamas too, there is a 34-unit Honeycomb building under construction which will have a private pool in every home, the report said.

But many doubt whether the buildings with private balcony pools are worth a buy. Since they are usually quite small and have a high possibility of spilling over. Also, there is always a possibility of potential disaster due to leak.

On builders’ point of view, the complexity in making swimming pool at the balcony will increase the construction cost significantly. Obviously, this extra cost will be passed on to the customers. For example, the Honeycomb's condos that are 5,800 square feet are priced at $15 million.

"The definition of luxury has been changing constantly in India. It is good that developers are trying new things to attract potential customers. They should make sure that such construction should have longevity and strong enough to provide protection to the residents concerned,” says Mukesh Gowariker, a Mumbai-based property consultant.

Sheth Creators launches mega residential project in Andheri East

Mumbai: Sheth Creators has recently launched ultra-luxurious residential project “Vasant Oasis” at Mumbai’s Andheri East.  

The project will have a mammoth 19 towers of 22 storeys each spread over 18 acres of land with five acres of land being kept for recreational purposes. The project has well developed physical and social infrastructure in its vicinity.

Vasant Oasis

Located in the heart of Andheri East, corporate houses, booming infrastructure development, popular eateries and connectivity offer new age cosmopolitan living for the residents of Vasant Oasis.

Once the busy industrial location, Andheri East has come a long way to become one of the prime real estate destinations in the commercial capital of India. Andheri East, which is strategically placed, has managed to maintain its momentum despite the present downturn the property market is encountering.

Vasant Oasis has location advantage due to its proximity to CBD, international airport and upcoming Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro project. The Metro rail is the major development and will substantially reduce the travel time to the west making this micro-market a more attractive residential destination, a company statement said.

Andheri East scores because most of this area is logistically well connected to the Western Express Highway, which provides easy and fast access to commercial hubs like Bandra Worli Sea Link, BKC, Lower Parel and the Eastern suburbs of Vikhroli, Powai, and Mulund.

Vasant Oasis provides modern amenities and number of exceptional facilities like convenient store, well equipped polyclinic, creche / day care, schools and hospitals.

The project encompasses 1, 2, 2.5 3 & 4 BHK apartments conceptualized by HB Design Pte Ltd, Singapore & DSP Design Associates Pvt Ltd, Pune.

The key highlights of the project are a plethora of amenities designed to exuberate and help amass the feel of complete and refined living.

According to Hiral Sheth, Business Development Team, Sheth Creators, “Our endeavor is to enhance and bestow better living to our consumers by offering world class services. Andheri East is the fastest developing suburbs, preferred destination and known for housing top notch corporate, 5 star hotels, colossal IT parks and educational institutions. Its landscape is now adorned with a number of high-rises and housing complexes. With the completion of this project, we believe Andheri East will get its one-of-its-kind residential township which will spell true luxury blended with opulence and comfort for connoisseurs of fine living.”

About Sheth Creators

Sheth Creators is the leading real estate company catering to the luxury and ultra-luxury segment. In its 26 years of existence, the company has developed a record 20 million square feet residential, commercial, retail and township projects in India and abroad and built over 18,000 homes. It has a track record in the real estate industry of developing innovative projects through its emphasis on contemporary architecture, strong project execution, quality construction and professionally managed team. Apart from winning 32 international awards, Sheth Creators has won ‘American Concrete Institute’ (ACI) and ‘LEED ’certifications.

Ahuja Constructions launches residential township at Ambarnath (E)

Vrindavan township at Prasadam in Ambernath (E).

Ahuja Constructions, a leading developer in Mumbai, has launched a residential township at suburb Prasadam in Ambernath (East).

Vrindavan, the integrated township, sprawled over 40 acres with five lakh sqft of landscaped gardens, offers 1, 2 and 3 BHK apartments.

Prasadam, located equidistant from Badlapur and Ambarnath, offers affordable housing and good connectivity to rail network. The place is witnessing infrastructural developments with Chikhloli railway station between Badlapur-Ambarnath and the four new roads in Ambarnath, leading to easy commutation to Mumbai.

The upcoming Chikhloli railway station is the major development and will substantially reduce the travel time to Mumbai making this micro-market a more attractive residential destination. The station is just five minutes walking distance from Prasadam and Vrindavan, would be ideal for those who look to have home in Prasadam. 

Ambarnath will soon grow and develop as an Industrial, Infrastructural and Employment destination, and the district is in the cusp of explosive growth. Vrindavan is planned with modern amenities and bequeaths the buyers with a reason to rejoice with a number of exceptional facilities like school, nursing home, supermarket, art corner, boundary plantation, shopping plaza, cineplex, banquet hall and a temple.

The project encompasses of 1, 2 & 3 BHK apartments .The highlights of the project are a plethora of amenities designed to exuberate and help amass the feel of complete and refined living.

According to Dhruv Jaywant, CMO Ahuja Constructions, “ Prasadam is our endeavour to provide world class living experience to our buyers and the new phase of Vrindavan houses amenities which will redefine community living in the far suburbs. The attractiveness of this project is further enhanced by the recently announced measures to improve connectivity like the upcoming Chikhloli railway station and four new roads.”