The Hindu Business Line : No dearth of takers at Rs 55,000/sq ft

Orbit Corporation is set to deliver Villa Orb, an extravaganza costing Rs 55,000-Rs 60,000 a square feet along the upscale Napeansea Road, Mumbai beachfront.

S. Shanker

Mumbai, July 20 It is luxury redefined: Seven apartments of 7,500 sq ft each – one a floor. And, eight floors to park over 80 cars.

A top floor penthouse will make up a total of eight residential floors of the 18-storeyed super structure, which will also house a gym, squash court, snooker and table tennis tables, swimming pool and health club on the 9th and 10th floor.

The façade will have a cladding of Italian marble. An air-conditioned lobby, piped music in common area and a 24- hour concierge system make up the rest.

Internal design

Orbit Corporation Ltd is set to deliver Villa Orb, an extravaganza costing Rs 55,000-Rs 60,000 a square feet along the upscale Napeansea Road, Mumbai beachfront.

Over 60 per cent of the project is complete and only two apartments are available for sale.

Clients are offered a bare shell structure to opt for the number of bedrooms they prefer — either four or five. A Singapore-based architect would take care of the internal design from then on depending on customer preferences.

Interestingly, there appears to be no dearth of choosy takers for this classy offering. Slick brochures do most of the talking in this niche segment where most players prefer to sell by invitation.

“Marketing has not been an issue, especially, when the number of units is less,” says Mr Ramashrya Yadav, Head- Finance and Strategies, Orbit Corporation Ltd.

The concept of relating the number of parking slots to the number of built-up units appears to be of a bygone era here. “It’s one for each bedroom we are thinking of, if not more,” says Mr Yadav. Moreover, the company claims to be first in using stainless steel in reinforcement (instead of the mild steel rods), to address corrosion. About 700 tonnes of stainless steel has gone into Villa Orb so far. The attendant-manned car park system costs Rs 2 crore.

Korean system

Another 38-storey project at Nana Chowk, has an automatic Korean parking mechanical system encompassing 18 floors, which will display the parking slot number after a moving platform parks the car in the nearest available slot. Recalling is done by keying in the slot number on the delivery mechanism counter.

The price per sq ft is close to Rs 23,000 in the 34-unit residential complex and each car park costs Rs 8 lakh. The promoters are also looking at “studio” models in the range of 500-700 sqft for couples in upmarket locales such as Lower Parel with a price-line of Rs 1 crore plus. This apart they have two commercial projects in the pipeline.

The company’s high-end enterprise is reflected in its stock price movement. The company’s shares have gained 266 per cent at Rs 352 as on Friday up from its listing price of Rs 110.

Orbit has 16 ongoing projects, including 12 in redevelopment, of over 10 lakh sq ft saleable area.

In a demand driven market, these projects too come under the “affordable” category for a select few to whom the blend of luxury and comfort far outstrip monetary considerations.

More Stories on : Real Estate & Construction | Maharashtra

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page