The Royal Calcutta Turf Club building on Russell Street

A prime plot in the heart of downtown Calcutta is being unlocked, paving the way for a heritage clubbing address with exclusive five-star rooms.

The management of Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) is giving final touches to its survival-cum-revival plan of converting the crumbling clubhouse on the 11 Russell Street premises into a heritage city club, in collaboration with upcountry real estate major Emaar MGF Land Pvt Ltd.

While no confirmation was forthcoming from the realty firm, and the stewards of RCTC maintaining that they were yet to sign on the dotted line, the market buzz is that Emaar MGF has emerged on top of the tender heap. The same group had created real estate history in town by quoting Rs 33 crore per acre for the 6.24-acre CMDA-tendered plot on the Bypass near ITC Sonar Bangla. The 3.7-acre RCTC campus on Russell Street is valued at over Rs 300 crore and heavyweights like DLF, ITC, Taj Group and TCG have been in talks with the turf club at various stages.

“We are doing the project as a joint development and our real estate partner’s role will be to build and run the property, while ownership remains with RCTC,” clarified steward Sudipto Sarkar. The realty partner will pay the club a lumpsum up front and a guaranteed amount every year.

“One of the most premium land parcels in the heart of the central business district is getting activated and could energise the already supercharged real estate market in Calcutta even further,” said Abhijit Das of international property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

Even as the RCTC management would like to peg membership to the exclusive city club at “way over” the present figure of Rs 5 lakh, the principal revenue stream will clearly be the five-star hospitality rooms. “We hope the project, which should be up and running in three years, would go a long way in resuscitating the ailing sport in the city. The first objective is to raise stake money amount and upgrade the race course to attract leading owners and compete with other main centres,” said steward Cyrus Madan.

The average stake money for a Class I field in Hyderabad is Rs 3.5 lakh, while RCTC offers Rs 1.65 lakh. So, Calcutta is racing with less than 300 thoroughbreds this monsoon, compared to over 1,100 horses in Mumbai. Repairing the dilapidated stands, increasing stable space and adding more attractions for members are other tasks awaiting the turf club. “The funds accruing from Russell Street will also help us improve the standard of professionals, like jockeys and trainers, who traditionally get 10 per cent of the winning stakes,” felt steward Kishore Bhimani. The bottomline: a hospitality destination on Russell Street to make the race course a happening place.