Oberoi Realty gets access to 1m sq ft in rehabilitation deal

MUMBAI: Oberoi Realty has bagged the rights to redevelop Adarsh Nagar near Lokhandwala in Andheri, a suburb in Mumbai, and the project is estimated to provide one million sq ft to the company for free sale after factoring in the rehabilitation of existing 1,000 tenants, two sources close to the development said.

Most of the approvals are in place and the company has already received the consent of the tenants required to go ahead with the project, one of the sources said. Tenants are likely to start moving out in the next 30 days, while the company is planning to start the construction in the next couple of months. The project is expected to be completed in the next 3-4 years.

Oberoi Realty’s chairman and managing director Vikas Oberoi declined to comment. However, he confirmed that his company is negotiating a redevelopment project in the western suburb of Mumbai.

The residential colony was built by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for low-income group around 20 years ago, under a project funded by the World Bank. The colony is now likely to make way for premium and luxury apartments, the segment Oberoi Realty operates in.

Recently, the colony was in news after civic authority razed off illegal structures there. These illegal structures included movie production houses, dance studios and an acting school.

“For any developer, this is an absolutely interesting project with very high profitability. Based on a quick estimate, the developer can easily expect profitability of Rs 10,000 per sq ft in this redevelopment work,” said Gulam Zia, national director — research & advisory services at Knight Frank India.