The Hindu Business Line : Making room for the Games

Visitors to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi could find themselves short on accommodation. The authorities are trying alternative arrangements to increase supply ahead of the event, international property consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

Mr Pankaj Renjhen, Managing Director–North India, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, says in a press release that due to delays in approvals and permissions it has become fairly evident that there is bound to be a shortage of rooms in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games.

This has led to backup measures with private residences given permission to register single rooms as bed-and-breakfast accommodation. While not new, it was not profitable until the coming of the Commonwealth Games. Now that the system has been revived and officially ratified, it will continue at an organised level even after the Games. Homeowners will have to renew their licences every two years.

There has also been some speculation about farmhouses in the Delhi NCR region being mobilised as a stopgap accommodation measure. Requests by farmhouse owners to utilise their properties for this purpose have certainly been made. The provisions for the Bed & Breakfast scheme would extend to farmhouses, as well.

However, because of their location, and the fact that they have residential-use status only, this temporary semi-commercial utilisation will not turn into a long-standing trend after the Commonwealth Games. These farmhouses are at the luxury end of the residential market, often with carefully maintained ambiance and infrastructure. Offering them up for long-term tourist use would not be a concept that would appeal to many of these farmhouse owners.

In the second place, most farmhouses in the Delhi NCR region are located in clusters around Mehrauli, Bijwasan, Rajokri and Chattarpur, which are far from strategically placed in terms of where the main Commonwealth Games action will be. As such, they would not present much of an advantage for visitors. Apart from the above measures, approximately 700 under-construction DDA flats coming up at Vasant Kunj and Rohini will be made ready to accommodate visitors.

Some of the 5-star hotels coming up for the Commonwealth Games are Crowne Plaza at Okhla Industrial area, Crowne Plaza at Mayur Vihar, Hilton (Piccadilly) at Janakpuri, Radisson Marina at Connaught Place and Hilton Convention Luxury Hotel at Dwarka, among others. The 5-star deluxe Leela Palace at Chanakyapuri is also in the pipeline. In the Gurgaon area, the 5-star supply includes Radisson Manesar and Frasers Serviced Apartments at Udyog Vihar. 5-star deluxe hotels include The Westin Gurgaon, The Oberoi, Four Seasons Gurgaon-DLF Golf Links and JW Marriott at Manesar. The 4-star hotels include Holiday Inn at Mayur Vihar, Novotel at Jhandewalan, Courtyard by Marriott, Park Plaza extension & Convention Centre and Park Inn. — Our Chennai Bureau

Doshi’s ‘independent house’ project

The dream of owning a house, particularly an ‘independent house,’ is still a strong one even in these days of affordable housing. This seems to be a market segment, dominated by NRIs, that is independent of market trends, says Mr Mehul H. Doshi, Director, Doshi Housing Ltd.

The Chennai-based developer has launched Serene County a project with 64 independent residential units, apart from row houses and four-units-in-one near Medavakkam, a southern suburb of Chennai. Priced at about Rs 50 lakh a unit the plot sizes range between 772 to 1,805 sq.ft and the built-up area is about 1,235-2,470 sq.ft.

Doshi Housing which has focused on developing projects in the heart of the city and well-developed suburbs is now looking at the ‘near suburbs’ for large projects, he says.

The company plans to launch three projects south of Chennai, one at Karapakkam on the Old Mahabalipuram Road about 10 km from the city, a project of about 1,000 apartments; and the other two projects are in the southern suburbs of Vengaivasal and Vanagaram with a total of 1,200 apartments. These would be launched once the approvals are in place. The company now has over six projects with a total built up area of 7 lakh sq.ft in the pipeline.

In line with the market conditions Doshi Housing has opted for cutting down on size of apartments to hold prices of units between Rs 20 lakh and 40 lakh which find takers fast. In 2007 there were no takers for 900 sq.ft apartments and typically units were of 1,200 sq.ft or more. Now under the changed circumstances developers are opting for 900-1,000 sq.ft for 2-BHK units and 1,200 sq.ft for 3-BHK units, he says. Doshi Housing has a couple of projects in this segment coming up at Tambaram and Perungudi to the south of the city with the units planned for delivery in phases from mid-2010.

R. BALAJI

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