Old hsg socs hope to cash in on realty boom……Nauzer K Bharucha
More Than 15 Residential Complexes Sign In For Redevelopment In Past One Month
More Than 15 Residential Complexes Sign In For Redevelopment In Past One Month
Mumbai: More than 15 housing society redevelopment proposals,mainly in the suburbs,have come up in the past three weeks,and the sudden flurry,said a market source,is because residents want to take advantage of the current high property prices.
They do not want to miss the boat once again like they did before the crash in 2008.Housing societies feel this is the right time to redevelop their properties.Currently,they are in a position in which they can dictate terms to builders, said a source,who tracks redevelopment proposals in the city.
However,most of these are owner-occupied properties and not tenanted or cessed buildings in the island city.In Mulund (E),the Jal Pushpa Milan Society,comprising 10 buildings and 169 flats,invited sealed tenders from builders to redevelop their entire 6,323 sq m (1.5 acre) property.In Jogeshwari (W),the Canara Bank Employees housing society called for bids for its two buildings__ Prashant and Nishant __ located on a half-an-acre plot.The sealed offer shall be submitted from January 1,2011 till January 15, a tender notice said last week.On the same day,another housing society,Jeevan Sona,on Linking Road in Santa Cruz (W),which has 24 apartments,entered the market for sale or redevelopment.
Also,several societies in Bandra and Khar are opting to sell their entire buildings (including the flats) and move out lock,stock and barrel.Depending on the location,each flat owner could get a couple of crores to move out permanently.On Road 15 in Bandra (W),the Pushp Vihar society has issued a notice,asking renowned builders to submit their bids for redevelopment.So has the Doulat Baug society on 36th Road in Bandra (W).
In Kurla (E),the Nehru Nagar Ekroop Housing Society wants to demolish its four-storey building and construct a new 12-storey tower,while in the eastern part of the same area,the Arafat Cooperative Society called for tenders to redevelop its Shanti Niketan building.The Sai Akashdeep society at Evershine Nagar in Malad (W) is another of the housing societies that have joined the redevelopment race in the past two weeks.Another one to have jumped on the redevelopment bandwagon is the Versova Andheri Samrat Ashok Society in Andheri (W) that comprises residential barracks on a 1,314 sq-m plot.It has called for tenders recently.The Borivali Milton society in Borivli (W),Azadnagar Panchasheel society on Veera Desai Road in Andheri (W) and Ashwamegh society in Ghatkopar (E) are some of the other societies on the list.
Sources said in the past,many redevelopment deals fell through because either residents became too greedy and demanded more from the developers or the builders backtracked during the slow down.In 2007,the Bharatiya Bhavan Cooperative Housing Society,tucked away in a corner of 17th Road in Khar (W),received a fabulous offer from a little-known developer from Navi Mumbai (APA) who upstaged many prominent builders when he offered Rs 180 crore for the 37 flats in six buildings.The deal,however,fell through.Early this year,another developer,Parinee,started buying individual apartments in this society,offering each member Rs 4 crore to Rs 5.5 crore.In 2008when the market had received a blowmany middle-class residents of suburban housing societies,who expected such deals that would bring them crores of rupees from builders to move out of their flats,suddenly realized that it was just an illusion.
The Rs 900-crore deal,which Pune-based Kumar Developers signed with residents of Khira Nagar in Santa Cruz (W) for redeveloping the 640 flats in 16 buildings in 2006 also got stuck because of title disputes.
Advice for housing society residents
* Dont get overtly greedy
* Stick to only prominent developers with good track records
* Many unknown builders have offered astronomical prices to housing societies but then backed out
* The managing committee of a housing society should take all members into confidence while going in for redevelopment
* Appoint a lawyer to go through the fine print