The Hindu Business Line : How wealthy was my valley?

The hype cannot not get any louder than this ... It is called the `World's Best City', and `life's finest abode' and alternatively `Independent India's first planned hill city.' There is a steady stream of celebrity endorsements — Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Ambani, Anna Kournikova, Aishwarya Rai ... the list seems never-ending. There is also an image makeover under way, wherein Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd, the promoting company, is hoping to turn on its head what was till now a very exclusive destination of the mega crorepatis into a more inclusive one, where even the recently made lakhpatis have a chance to join the club. For good measure, what was till a few weeks ago Amby Valley in Lonavala has now been relabelled Aamby Valley City.

For the loaded city-dweller, forking out a cool Rs 10 crore for an English-style villa should be in order, given that he already may have coughed up more for his apartment in the South side of the island city. More so as owning such a 22,000 sq. ft. villa built on a two-acre plot comes with the chance to get away from the crowded city.

Yet, a real estate project pitched along these lines is taking some selling, as living at a good three-hour drive away from Mumbai can only be good for a weekend getaway, though the growing high net worth individual (HNI) segment in India has the appetite for such investments.

"It is well within the reach of the HNIs who are always keen to park funds in weekend getaways or alternative residences. This is all the more true when it comes to branded realty with fully-developed infrastructure and world-class amenities. Endorsements by celebrities who are seen to have actually participated in the project could tip the scales as far as the HNIs are concerned," says Sanjay Dutt, Executive Director, Transaction Services-Agency Services, Cushman & Wakefield India. As if to further tip the balance, the Sahara group is now dangling the prospect of introducing daily chopper services to and from Mumbai for those opting to make Aamby Valley City a permanent living solution.

And once the numbers of permanent residents make it a sustainable model, there could even be a regular flight service linking its airstrip, company officials say.

Not all potential customers, though, are convinced, saying that the economics of such transit models would not be sustainable for long. According to T. A. Varghese, who runs his own air cargo business and was among the dozens to have checked out Aamby Valley as a potential customer quite recently, to suggest that business can be carried out sitting in the hills of Lonavala, despite the availability of Internet and other facilities, does not cover the facts in entirety.

"In reality, there is no way most businessmen can afford to be physically away from their offices for long. To fall back on an air link with Mumbai would work out to be an economically unviable model to be pursued on a daily basis. Moreover, the rates on offer are too steep as other developers in the region are offering real estate at a fraction of cost, though minus many of the frills offered by Sahara," elaborates Varghese.

The Aamby Valley management agrees the rates are high but comparable property in Mumbai and even Pune would be even costlier, they say, adding that the target customer is definitely not one who has retired from city life. And unlike in the past, those who do not quite make the super-rich grade are also welcome. To accommodate those on the make on the wealth front, the promoters have introduced timber chalets, ranging from Rs 80 lakh for a single bedroom to Rs 1.3 crore for three bedrooms.

"The chalets are made of imported pine wood and even the single bedroom unit has 1,600 sq. ft. of built space in a 5,000 sq. ft. plot. Considering the aspiration levels of young families with disposable income that is in the take-off stage, we have incorporated staggered payment options.

"Till date, we have sold 150 plots and the customer profile includes NRI diamond merchants, stockbrokers and even city builders. We are planning to target NRIs based in the US, the UK and the UAE to sell our 7,000 plots," said an onsite sales and marketing manager at Aamby Valley. Sahara has targeted selling 7,000 plots by 2012. In the short term, it is hoping to seal deals on 500 units by the year-end. However, there are many who question the group's claims of having sold even 150 plots, saying the numbers cannot hold good unless conversion of some of the old time-share customers is included.

The management is undaunted by such criticism as it works towards roping in Walt Disney to set up a theme park, a five-star hotel chain to start operations and a UK-based school with an eye on young couples. It is also rooting for the elderly to settle down at Aamby Valley and an `aided' city space (read, old age home) is in the offing. Surely, the Sahara group is going all out to persuade people to settle down in Aamby Valley City.

Picture by Paul Noronha

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