In a few years, skyscrapers will dot city’s mill district.
Once the mill district of Mumbai; now it defines the city’s skyline. Lower Parel, an area that was once dotted with mill structures, will soon have skyscrapers coming up at almost every corner. Over the next four years, a string of 60-plus-storey residential buildings are expected to come up in Lower Parel.
Most big realtors are planning residential towers offering homes from 2,000sq ft to 8,000sq ft. Indiabulls is planning its 70-storey Indiabulls Sky and another 65-storey tower in Lower Parel. The developer, in both projects, has got a phase wise planning permission of 35 stories.
Another 70-plus-storey twin-tower project has been planned by DB Realty at Crown Mills. The developer, expected to get a nod for the towers from civic authorities, is offering homes of an average 2,000 sq ft size. Just a few kilometres, near the old passport office in Worli, a 65-storey skyscraper is being planned by Oberoi Constructions in a joint venture with Sahana Builders. This proposed tower is in addition to the 65-storey skyscraper already planned by Oberoi at the Glaxo factory in Worli.
Raheja Developers, however, is believed to be planning to construct the tallest tower, an 80-storey skyscraper in Worli.
“The reason Mumbai is going vertical is because it’s the only solution left. Not only are the towers convenient-you can also create a lot of real estate out of a relatively small ground area. High-rises are the only option for a congested city,” a senior Indiabulls official said.
However, even as Lower Parel is growing vertically, areas south of Mumbai do not want to be left behind. A 60-storey residential tower by SD Corporation at Chowpatty and another by Shreepati Developers at Girgaum are expected to come up soon.
But much as the developers are bullish about constructing the towers, there are others like architect Neera Adarkar who are sceptical about the unchecked growth. Adarkar believes that infrastructure is the lifeline of a city and it shouldn’t be put under pressure.
“There is a need to develop accessibility to the mainland, concentrating on places like Borivali (western suburb of Mumbai) and Navi Mumbai (a satellite township). What needs to be done first is to provide better infrastructure like transportation,” Adarkar said.
Home registrations on the upswing
After braving the slowdown, developers in the city are now witnessing revival of fortunes. 2009 has seen an 85% rise in property document registrations over 2008. According to data available with the stamp duty registrar, 6,402 documents were registered this year against 3,460 registered last year. The month-on-month registrations have gone up by a marginal 5%. The lease registration, however, has seen a drop of 29% in 2009 against the 5,105 lease registrations in 2008.
—Pooja Sarkar
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