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Mini' skyscrapers for Coimbatore
Though the real-estate market
in Coimbatore is set to see nearly twice the
number of apartment units entering the housing
segment in the city next year, the industry
remains unfazed about it causing any glut or
demand stagnation. The residents of Coimbatore
are also likely to see the skylines of the city
being dotted with (mini) skyscrapers as almost
10-12 apartment projects of 8-14 floors in each
block are likely to come up in the city next
year which, however, is not likely to cause any
easing of rates due to factors such as the need
for more open spaces and increased construction
cost. Mr Rajesh B. Lund, Vice-President of the
Tamil Nadu unit of the Confederation of Real
Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI)
and Managing Director of Srivari Property
Developers, Coimbatore, said the Coimbatore
market annually absorbed about 2,000-3,000 units
of two- and three-bedroom apartments. His
expectation was that next year, 4,000-6,000
units would come into the market with majority
of them catering to the ‘mid-segment' with up to
1,500 sq.ft in area and consisting of two- and
three-bedrooms. The rates could be between Rs
2,700/sq.ft and Rs 4,000/sq.ft depending on the
location but excluding prized areas such as Race
Course, R. S. Puram and Saibaba Colony where the
land price is much higher and space is scarce.
Coimbatore already has apartment complexes of up
to 8-10 floors. But they will become more
pronounced, thanks to the changes in the
Development Control Rules (DCR) a few months ago
and would come up chiefly off the arterial
Avinashi road, Tiruchi road, Sathyamangalam road
and Mettupalayam road. Most of the apartment
complexes here would have 8-12 floors. The
number of units would depend on the extent of
land but builders would require a large area for
such projects as they would require more open
areas. Mr Lund said his company had two projects
on the drawing board — one in Vilankurichi
having 10 floors, off Avinashi road, and the
other on the Mettupalayam road having 12 floors.
Mr Lund said the new DCR, which came into force
in June this year, has allowed the builders to
go for higher floors subject to certain norms,
such as road width being more than 60 ft. This
would allow for more open space and ‘breathing
space' and more recreation area for the
residents. In Coimbatore, a large number of
apartment complexes are of G+3 floor type that
cover nearly 60 per cent of the plot area.
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But he ruled out cost of
apartments in such skyscrapers coming down —
citing factors such as higher construction cost
due to the need to lay a stronger foundation,
cost of conveying material, labour cost and the
longer duration of construction that pushes up
the financial cost of projects etc, apart from
increasing land cost. While there may not be any
price reduction due to higher floors being
allowed, the builders may tweak the size of the
apartments so that the overall purchase cost
could be affordable. There were good contractors
in the city capable of executing such large
projects but the city has not yet reached the
level of building genuine skyscrapers of 20 to
30 floors as in Mumbai. He estimated that the
high-rises being planned here would have an
average built-up area of 50,000 sq.ft to 2 lakh
sq.ft each and their USP was they would provide
a better quality of life as living space would
be more and at higher floors one may not need
air-conditioners. As done in Mumbai, would he
charge extra for each higher floor beyond a
level in his forthcoming project? Mr Lund said,
“ideally we would like to charge (as in Mumbai)
but we will address it at the time of bookings.”
Mr V.Mohan, Managing Director, Mayflower
Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore, who is also
planning to enter this high-rise segment, said a
lot of such projects are under approval in the
city and next year would see many of them being
launched. But as there are not many roads that
are 60 ft wide, the places where these could
come up would be fewer. He said the large number
of launches next year is not expected to have an
unsettling impact on the realty market. Any
realtor, including a market biggie from
Bangalore planning to enter the city, will phase
out their execution and “definitely correction
will not happen” since compared with land price
the apartments are ‘realistically priced' in
Coimbatore.
Mr V.Subramanian, Executive Director, Ramani
Realtors Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore, said the major
advantage of Coimbatore was that even in prime
areas such as R.S.Puram or Ram Nagar, flats
could be bought for Rs 4,500-5,000 per sq.ft, a
luxury not available in many other cities. What
was of concern to the builders was the high cost
of land. The demand was for flats in the Rs
35-Rs 50 lakh price band but as buyers in this
segment are price-sensitive, developers have to
tread cautiously.Rs 1000 note of 1954 popular in
Thanjavur
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