The Hindu Business Line : Foreign-style villas at Indian prices

Investment World - Real Estate & Construction
Industry & Economy - Real Estate & Construction
States - Tamil Nadu
Foreign-style villas at Indian prices

A gated community project for the well-heeled is coming up at Yercaud.

Different from the conventional.

R. Yegya Narayanan

Do you dream of buying stylish villas at idyllic locations abroad but baulk at the price? Well, a Chennai-based real-estate developer has come out with a project close to hill station Yercaud in Salem district that seeks to meet the aspirations of buyers who would like to own Western style villas at Indian prices.

The Rs 80-crore project styled ‘Faber Hills’, by Vijay Shanthi Builders (VSB), jointly with Shekar Coffee offers 99 premium villas in English, Spanish, Belgian and Waterfront style on 22 acres amidst the hills of Kondappanaiyakanpatti. It is a gated community project with premium facilities such as health club, swimming pool and outdoor games.

Yercaud is known for its salubrious climate and is a great tourist attraction, but would that in itself be a selling point for villas priced in the range of Rs 75- 85 lakh each?

Mr Suresh Jain, Managing Director, VSB, said his company is known as a builder of lifestyle homes with lush landscape. Salem was a gateway to tier-two cities for the company that had for long made Chennai its home. He said the site was selected because of its natural beauty with hills on three sides and a canal flowing close to the project. It is the scenic beauty of the location that is its USP in addition to the proximity to major towns.

He pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Government has proposed to extend its thrust on the IT sector to Salem. For the textile hubs of Karur, Tirupur and Erode, Salem and Yercaud acted as a magnet for not only business but relaxation as well. Mr Jain said Salem has not had a project of this type till now. The landscaping around each house would be in sync with the style of the home exterior.

The duplex houses would be 3,000-3,500 sq.ft . The site, at the foothills of Yercaud, was about 15 km from the Salem Railway station. He said the project would be completed in two years.

More projects for Salem

VSB has chosen Salem with long-term plans and would come up with more projects there and make announcements in this regard once the land deals are firmed up.

About the potential of Salem to absorb such high-end projects, he said a ‘demand assessment’ had been carried out before taking up the project. This was a high-end project targeted at an elite group since the company wanted to maintain exclusivity.

That Salem was strategically located with easy access to Bangalore, Coimbatore and Chennai, apart from several industrial towns, also weighed with the company while making the decision.

Mr Jain is keen to grab a share of the real-estate pie in Coimbatore also. But this will be only after a couple of years since VSB is scouting for a suitable location.

On whether he expected any slowdown in demand because of the anticipated interest rate hike following the RBI’s decision to tighten money supply, Mr Jain said there was no significant slowdown due to interest rate spike. Customers were aware that costs would be going up as days roll by and there would be no appreciable slowdown in the real-estate market.

He said the full project details had been given to SBI, Salem and HDFC and several other banks also supported the project.