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THE TIMES OF INDIA BANGALORE SATURDAY MAY 31, 2014

POISED FOR GROWTH WITH PRIME LOCATION DRAWS

UPGRADED CONNECTIVITY HOMEBUYERS, INVESTORS

Options and pricing

Residential market overview
Statistics with C&W show that Bellary Road is currently witnessing development of mid-segment apartments,
launched within integrated townships
along this belt. The standard format of
two and three bedroom apartments is
prevalent in this market. These options
are available at a price band of Rs 3,2004,500 per sqft.
The average for north Bangalore for
the mid-segment falls within the range
of Rs 3,750-5,500 per sqft.

ES
M
TI
TH
E

Both these areas have a location advantage as they are strategically-located in proximity to the international airport, Whitefield as well as the Central
Business District (CBD). Since they are
largely unexplored, there is greater scope
for development.
Zahed Mahmood, Director, Silverline
Realty, explains, "Kammanahalli and
HRBR Layout have emerged as active
hubs. The pattern of development here
is similar to Jayanagar 4th Block, with
good clubs, retail and F&B options. The
affluent residential population from
neighbourhoods such as Cooke Town
and Frazer Town moved into Hennur
Road when it expanded further, emerging as an extension to these locations."

IN

Bellary Road has witnessed significant expansion in the residential market over the last decade. Thomas explains, "The relocation of the airport
has, primarily, led to development in the
region. Currently, this belt is witnessing apartments, villas and plotted developments. Government initiatives to
aid commercial and industrial growth
in the region, the airport at Devanahalli,
good connectivity and social infra-

Location advantage

R Rajgopal

AROUND THE CITY

Commercial development
According to Srinivasa Reddy, "A mix
of commercial and IT SEZ developments
are coming up in a three-km radius around

Whitefield prefer to live around

here because of easy access to
the airport and to Whitefield
through the ORR due to signalfree connectivity between Hebbal and K R Puram.
Development has just begun
on Thanisandra Road. Large residential
projects are set to come up here. Also, the
flyover at Lingarajapuram will make commuting easier. In the next three to five
years, this will be an active extension of
Whitefield, while being closer to the city
center. If you are planning to invest, this
is an area to consider," Zahed says.

Hennur Road
Thanisandra Road

PE

these two locations. Approximately seven million sqft is under construction and
will be completed in the next two-three
years. Many other proposed projects are
set to enter the market after 2015-16."
Residential spread

While commercial development is still

coming up here, the residential market is
very active. Shabeer Sait, Operations
Head, Irshads Property Matters, says, "The
target audience for these locations is very
different. Since Hennur Road is an alreadydeveloped upscale market, there are more
luxury offerings here. While apartments
fall in the range of Rs 4,250-6,250 per sqft,
villas come for around Rs 6,800-10,000 per
sqft. As for Thanisandra Road, residential options here fall in the mid-segment
category. The capital values of apartments
range from Rs 3,750-6,000 per sqft. Row
houses are priced between Rs 8,000-8,500
per sqft. Affordable housing options in
the one and two-bedroom variants are
priced between Rs 35-50 lakhs."
Srinivasa Reddy adds, "Residential development is happening on the main
roads in both locations. However, the
magnitude of development is higher on
Hennur Road due to availability of large
land parcels, easy access to Outer Ring
Road, and to existing and ongoing commercial projects."
Connectivity has played a major role
in the development of these locations.
"There was no major BDA development
apart from HRBR Layout in this belt. Reasonable land supply led to development
here, what with it's proximity to the CBD
too. Many IT professionals working in

eP

momentum by 2015. This region witnessed its first major office space transaction in the first half of 2013 with the
lease of 0.20 million sqft of office space
on Bellary Road."
Some of the factors which have contributed to emergence of commercial
development are the availability of large
land parcels, relocation of the international airport, smooth, seamless connectivity through the elevated highway
from Hebbal leading to the airport and
growth of the residential market.
Thomas presents his outlook on the
commercial space market. "This belt is
witnessing commercial development
along Bellary Road. The micro-market
also faces stiff competition from the
ORR (Marathahalli-Sarjapur Road
stretch) as prominent Grade A properties are available at Rs 45-52 per sqft per
month here."

IA

Bellary Road

structure such as the presence of reputed schools and healthcare facilities,

as well as a wide range of housing options have led to greater demand for residential options here."
According to Thomas, "Plotted developments are finding takers with buyers
investing in this option anticipating
long-term returns. While a majority of
the options here are priced in the range
of Rs 1,000-1,500 per sqft, developments
by prominent builders within townships
are available in a price bracket of Rs
3,500-4,200 per sqft."
Villa projects in the price bracket of
Rs 3-16 crores per unit are available in
this micro-market.
Srinivasa Reddy N S, Assistant Vice
President - Research and REIS, JLL India, adds, "Affordable housing projects
that were launched during 2009 have
seen significant absorption which has
led developers to focus on this segment.
The affordable residential segment is
only housed by a few micro-markets, including Bellary Road, Hosur Road,
Tumkur Road and Mysore Road."

Bellary Road, from Hebbal to Yelahanka, is emerging as a prominent commercial hub in north Bangalore. Currently, there are two prominent business
parks operational in this belt. Research
by C&W indicates that warm shell
rentals here are in the range of Rs 50-53
per sqft per month. The market is also
witnessing under-construction commercial Grade A space of approximately 1.70 million sqft that will be operational in the next two years.
Shrinivas Rao, CEO - Asia Pacific, Vestian Global Workplace Solutions, says,
"Bangalore north is anticipated to gain

AROUND THE CITY

Commercial market overview

R Rajgopal

PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPORT THROUGH THE ORR HAS LED TO THE

GROWTH OF THE HENNUR-THANISANDRA ROAD BELT

ill the early 2000s, the activity in

north Bangalore along Bellary Road
(NH-7) was primarily industrial in
nature. Industries in this belt included
Binny Mills, the Coca Cola factory, AMCO
Batteries etc and large-scale public sector units such as HMT, BHEL, BEML etc.
Besides industrial activity, locations off
Bellary Road were primarily rural in nature with intermittent residential activity in the form of plotted layouts.
Somy Thomas, Executive Director Consultancy and Valuation & Advisory,
Cushman & Wakefield, tracks the evolution of this micro-market. "The development of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) in
2002 marked the changing real estate dynamics of the city. Locations along north
Bangalore, essentially the stretch along
the ORR connecting the IT corridor of
Whitefield, Sarjapur Road and Hebbal,
witnessed tremendous growth. The development of a prominent business park
coupled with the international airport
becoming operational at Devanahalli in
2008, further created the necessary impetus for development of real estate along
this stretch."

hile Bangalore north is witnessing increased real estate

growth, two locations in this
belt are gaining prominence - Hennur
Road and Thanisandra Main Road. While
Hennur Road is a more mature market,
Thanisandra Road, which is a nascent
market, is expected to pick up over the
next three to five years.
Srinivasa Reddy N S, Assistant Vice
President - Research and REIS, JLL India,
elaborates on factors working in favour
of these locations. "The key drivers for
Hennur Road and Thanisandra Road are
proximity to the Outer Ring Road (ORR)
and to one of the largest IT special economic zones (SEZs) in Bangalore. Several large, upcoming commercial/office projects are in close proximity to these locations. Also, factors such as ongoing physical and social infrastructure projects are
driving demand here."

Proximity to the airport

and commercial hubs
through the Outer Ring
Road, good connectivity
through the upgraded
highway, and a wide
variety of residential
options are pushing
growth in the region

Strategically-located in
proximity to the Outer
Ring Road, Whitefield as
well as the Central
Business District, these
two locations are gaining
an advantage also due to
efficient connectivity and
the IT factor

THE UPGRADED BELLARY ROAD HAS SPURRED COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN

THE REGION, GIVING A PUSH TO DEMAND FOR HOMES

Growth of retail
The residential and commercial developments resulted in development of
malls on Thanisandra Road and in Banaswadi. According to Srinivasa Reddy,
"These locations are witnessing the entry of major food chain outlets on main
roads. A varied group of retailers are
moving into malls, mainly in the F&B,
supermarkets and apparel segments.
Around 0.50 million sqft of mall space is
already operational and under-construction space is around 0.40 million
set to be ready in the next two years."
Shabeer Sait points out, "Many retail
projects have been planned here. On
Thanisandra Main Road, townships
with retail supply are set to come up in
the next 5-6 years. These mixed-use developments have dedicated high street
shopping areas as well as standalone
malls. Of the two main projects coming up around this location, one project that is coming up towards the ORR
will have around two million sqft of retail and high street shopping space. In
the other project, located after the railway crossing, a portion of the two million sqft of commercial space development in the complex will be allocated
to retail."