MUMBAI: In a bonanza for residents of a Khar housing society, a builder has been buying off their mid-sized flats, paying each family between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5.5 crore.
Mumbai-based Parinee Developers claims to have shelled out between Rs 4 crore to Rs 4.5 crore for a one-BHK flat and Rs 5 crore to Rs 5.5 crore for a twoand-a-half-BHK in the three-decade-old Bharatiya Bhavan Cooperative Housing Society, which is located at the corner of 17th Road in Khar (west). Parinee plans to demolish the buildings and set up a high-end residential tower.
However, there is a word of caution from real estate experts. They warn these huge amounts may send wrong signals in the redevelopment market, unnecessarily create hype and raise expectations of other housing societies in the area. However, Parinee said it is paying this astronomical price only because the society has utilised barely 40% of its floor space index (FSI).
The developer has already bought out 20 of the 37 flats in the society and said it is negotiating with the remaining flat owners. “We are finalising the purchase of the remaining 17 flats. Our acquisition cost for all the flats is around Rs 200 crore,’’ said a spokesperson for the developer.
The society comprising six buildings, each ground plus two floors, is spread over an area of 5,570 square yards (over an acre) with ample open spaces and car parking. The one-BHKs have a carpet area of between 580 to 625 sq ft while the two BHKs are between 800 to 900 sq ft in size.
Tip from expert: Don’t be greedy
The Bharatiya Bhavan CGHS in Khar (West) has been on the block for the past four years. In 2007, TOI was the first to report that the society had invited sealed bids from various developers and that a Navi Mumbai-based builder, APA, had offered Rs 180 crore to the society. There were several other leading builders in the fray, including Tata Housing, Wadhwa Group, Naman Developers and Acme.
However, the builder subsequently withdrew the offer due to recession and also because of infighting between two groups of flat owners. Some residents thought that APA’s offer was not enough. The fight culminated in a legal battle — Parinee Developer now claims it has helped resolve the issue between the two groups.
In 2006-07 , a slew of housing societies in the suburbs had received phenomenal offers from developers if they agreed to redevelop their properties. While some builders wanted flat owners to move out permanently by paying them off handsomely, others agreed to rehouse them in new and larger flats in the redeveloped property.
However, many of these deals failed to take off because either residents became too greedy and kept on demanding more from the developers or the builders themselves backtracked when the property market slowed down two years ago. Sprawling housing colonies like Nutan Nagar near the Bandra (W) station and Khira Nagar in Santa Cruz got stuck after getting offers running into hundreds of crores. In 2007, Khira Nagar housing society entered into agreement with the Pune-based Kumar Developers for a reported Rs 900 crore for the 640 flats in 16 buildings. But the project never took off.
