The Hindu Business Line : Mumbai builders woo buyers with ‘green canopy’

The stock markets have softened. Real-estate demand has weakened and developers are saddled with high inventories. But all this has not dampened the creative ability of Mumbai builders.

Just as green buildings are becoming the norm in the land-starved Mumbai metropolis, so is green cover. And, it is here that developers have found a way to offer an expanse of flora for their clientele, albeit on large terraces and podiums that span up to 2.5 acres, depending on the size of projects.

The benefits are obvious for buyers, who earlier saw only roads, parking lots and at best a patch of green along the periphery amid the brick and mortar.

For the builder, the incremental cost is passé as the value the green canvas provides is immense. From about 20 per cent they set aside for recreation space, the extent of green has near tripled with this innovative exercise.

The natural cover is not only atop terraces, but also over massive multi-level car parks and ‘relief’ on the middle floors of high-rise complexes, where the headroom is almost three to five times that of the living spaces.

The soil filling varies from 1.5 metres to a foot depending on the type of plant. High-density poly ethylene filters and load bearing mediums are an integral part of the structure with a drainage network for excess water.

The additional cost of Rs 250 to Rs 300 a sq.ft, in general, for establishing the green canopy has no bearing on property prices that are anyway upwards of Rs 10,000 a sq.ft.

Thirst for greenery

The General Secretary of the Builders Association of India, Mr Anand Gupta, says this has become a trend among the builder fraternity now. The initial apprehensions that the massive soil load over concrete would result in leaks and seepage faded with the use of the right material and technology. “It is more to satisfy the thirst for greenery among the people,” he says.

1.20 lakh sqft

One of the largest such elevated gardens here is Marathon Group’s project, a mixed use residential-cum-commercial complex here. The built-up area is about seven lakh sq.ft and the elevated garden 1.20 lakh sq.ft.

Fifteen-ft-tall trees and shrubs dot the green turf, which also boasts a child play area and other open-to-sky amenities.

The roof garden, above four floors of parking, with each floor designed to accommodate 120 cars, merges with the 36 storey residential complex — Marathon Era. Due to the seamless merger, residents of the 225-unit residential tower can step onto the elevated park at the fifth floor.

The commercial buildings car park (600 multilevel car slots) is also linked to the residential unit’s car park to house a 40,000 sq.ft swimming pool and clubhouse.

“If we had gone in for a ground-level car park, the residents would have had only roads and a parking lot over the entire place and the recreation area restricted to a third of the current size,” said Mr Mayur Shah, Managing Director, Marathon Group.

500 truckloads

About 500 truckloads of red soil filled the garden and about 250 short variety species of tree saplings planted.

With office spaces close by, the garden ensures that the 1,000-odd residents’ recreational needs are met atop the building, obviating the need to step down.

The cost appears to be higher when the garden is created on middle floors.

Orbit Corporation, which primarily focuses on redevelopment projects (demolishing old buildings and constructing), has designed a garden and club house on the eighth floor of one of its projects, besides roof parks on every fifth floor of another, a 35-storey high-rise.

“The cost would be about Rs 900 to Rs 1,200 and the maintenance about Rs 8 per sqft extra per month” said Mr Ramashrya Yadav, Head-Finance and Strategies, Orbit Corporation.

The cost factor is not much compared to the project cost. The average sq.ft cost of Orbit Corporation’s properties is a little over Rs 23,000 a sq.ft.

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