MUMBAI: Piramal Mahalaxmi is a premium housing project that offers luxury apartments with panoramic views of the Mahalaxmi racecourse and the Arabian Sea. The 2, 3 and 4 BHK apartments, in three towers, promise a “lifestyle filled with luxury, comfort and extravagance”. Piramal Mahalaxmi is also Mumbai’s tallest slum redevelopment project, executed under the state’s Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA).
For decades, the words ‘luxury’ and ‘slum rehab’ didn’t go together – not any more. Piramal Mahalaxmi is typical of a new trend, where an increasing number of branded developers are entering the slum rehabilitation space, ironically, to sell premium and luxury residences. A handful of such projects has been completed in the last couple of years, where slum-dwellers have received 300sq ft homes, as mandated by the SRA; developers are selling luxury apartments, as part of the free-sale component of their agreement with the SRA, and the city gains large open spaces, once covered in shanties.
What’s in it for branded developers? In a nutshell – massive incentives in Floor Space Index (FSI) and a host of policy changes such as the new Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, strategic location of the land parcels, a dearth of larger land parcels, better margins, newer business models, evolving dynamics in real estate, and market consolidation. Among the growing roster of such developers are: Godrej Properties, Adani Realty, L&T Realty, Ashar .