The broken, potholed Girish Ghosh Road was a bane for the residents of north Howrah even early this year. Old, decrepit houses and shops line this road of north Howrah that runs parallel to GT Road. But the locality has undergone a makeover of sorts ever since an upscale housing project has come up on this road.
Forum Pravesh, a tony apartment complex with an impressive frontage and creature comforts like an adjoining mall and plex, which is about 5 km from Rabindra Setu, has turned this dingy north Howrah neighbourhood into a swanky area with the black top of Girish Ghosh Road now smooth and unbroken. Yet, the decrepit neighbouring houses and shops remain standing rather incongruously to this upscale residential complex complete with a garbage dump right in front of the mall.
Realty boom
While residents have moved into Forum Pravesh since last year, and 98 per cent of its units are sold out, top realtors of the region, perhaps buoyed by such success, are now making a beeline to develop condominiums in Howrah.
The Merlin Group, the Space Group and Ideal have started housing projects in the more upmarket locality of south Howrah. All the three projects are within a stone's throw from Avani Riverside mall, that is as much frequented by Howrah-ites as by Calcuttans. With communication links to Calcutta vastly improved and the seat of government moving to the west bank, its westward ho! for many a people. "Howrah is witnessing a boom in upscale housing projects mainly because of its improved connectivity to Calcutta, thanks to the Vidyasagar Setu and Kona Expressway," said a realtor.
Life by the river
Water or river seems to be the byword for the realtors as they market their condominiums as riverside or waterfront apartments with the Hooghly flowing quietly by. Forum Pravesh has four of its 12 towers facing the Hooghly "which is just about 800 metres from the river bank," said Ujjal, the Chief Operating Officer of the project. "The land previously belonged to NTPC, a central government mill," he added.
In fact, it was quite fortuitous for Forum Group that had previously only done malls, to get involved in a housing project and that too in north Howrah. "The land fell on our lap when my father bid for it in 2005," said Rahul Saraf, the MD of Forum Group. "We had done a market survey and were not too keen to develop the property. We were thinking of selling it off when the global economic meltdown started and the real estate market tanked up. So we ended up keeping the land and then went on to develop it as a residential project," said Saraf. "We launched the project much against market sentiments. We planned to develop it in a phased manner with only four towers. We expected to sell 50 apartments at the launch. But we ended up selling 150 apartments in the first phase," he added.
Price rise
Forum Pravesh has 500 flats in the G+12 towers, which include 3 and 4 BHK flats and 16 duplex apartments of 5 and 6 BHK. "A few flats we have retained to sell later as price escalated soon after the opening of Rangoli, the mall-cum-plex on April 15, this year," said Ujjal. Three years back, flats at Pravesh sold at Rs 2900 per sq ft. "Price has escalated three times and now flats are being offered at Rs 4200 per square feet," he said.
Forum Pravesh is Howrah's first gated community that offers the amenities of community hall, TV room, games room, kids' playing area, gym, pool, jogging tracks including a natural pond. Plus it now has a mall right beside with Spencers, Reliance Trends, Max, Lifestyle, Inox opening shop.
Buyer profile
When asked about the customer profile of Forum Pravesh, Ujjal said: "Most of them are local businessmen who used to live within a five km radius. There are a handful of Bengalis but mostly Marwaris," said Ujjal.
Anjan Majumdar, a landscape artist who lives in a 3BHK flat in B Block on first floor, shifted into his new flat in February last year from the neighbouring Ghusuri area. "We were among the first 25 families to shift in," said Anjan who enjoys the greenery inside. "The atmosphere here is good. There is the mall right across and a children's park right in front. I do my morning walks in the complex. The only thing that bothers us is the quality of water. It has a high sodium content," said Majumdar.
Down south, Merlin Waterfront in Shalimar, right next to the Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST), is another such condominium that is spread over 2.2 acres. With four 12-storied towers that house 264 condos, Merlin Waterfront is going at a rate of Rs 4700 per square feet. "We have 2 BHK and 3 BHK apartments of 1000 sq feet and 1600 sq feet that are going for Rs 50 lakh to Rs 80 lakh," said Sushil Mohta of Merlin. "About 100 of these 264 flats have already been sold and 30 per cent of the construction has been completed so far. We will give possession in the first quarter of 2018," said Mohta. About 60 per cent of its flats face the river.
Gated community
Merlin Waterfront is a gated community offering the usual urban amenities of community hall, children's area, gym, pool, parking facilities. "Most of our clientele are those having business in Howrah," said the Merlin MD. "The location of our project is drawing people. It is walking distance from Nabanna, 10-12 minutes from AJC Bose Road, 15-20 minutes from Ballygunge," he added.
Walking straight from Shalimar towards Foreshore Road, another apartment complex is being built by Space Group. Clubtown Riverdale is located on Foreshore Road, with the Hooghly in front. Spread over 3.5 acres, the three towers with 125 apartments are going for Rs 5000 per square feet. "We have 2,3 and 4 BHK apartments ranging from 1100 sq ft to 2100 sq ft. About 89 units have been sold," said Piyush Bhagat of Space Group.
Located at a place that has easy access, about 10 minutes ride to either of the two bridges connecting Howrah to Calcutta, the Rabindra Setu and the Vidyasagar Setu, Clubtown Riverdale's Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is that 60 of its flats have a view of the river. "From the second floor onwards, its an unhindered view of the Hooghly," said Mayank Singh, Head, Sales and Marketing, Space Group.
Modern facilities
Riverdale also comes with the usual facilities like gym, pool, community hall, landscaped garden. Further down from Riverdale are the Ganges Garden and Vivek Vihar, apartment complexes on Foreshore Road that were built in the 90s. "But these lack the modern facilities. Howrah residents have never had the opportunity to buy flats with such amenities," said Singh.
The buyers at Riverdale, Bhagat said, were a mix of local traders and business men with a corporate or two thrown in. "All our customers are from Howrah, from South Howrah to be specific. They have business either in Howrah or Burrabazar/Dalhousie," said Singh. Praveen Naulakha is one such buyer at Riverdale. He lives in Panchsheel Apartments on Shibpur Road and he along with his two brothers and their families will move into Riverdale once they get possession, which will be "by the Pujas this year."
Nearness to Nabanna
"I have been living in Howrah for the last 12 years in Panchsheel Apartments. At that time we did not have such posh flats in Howrah. Apartments like these are a positive development in Howrah. Besides, it being close to Nabanna also helps. Because ever since the seat of government shifted here, the area around Nabanna has been looked after well. Foreshore Road is very well-maintained. They keep upgrading the area. Even today, some work or the other is going on," said Naulakha, who along with his brothers have bought 4BHK flats each in Tower 3.
Ideal Grand is the third housing project that is coming up around the vicinity of the Avani mall. Located on GT Road, it is in Shibpur spread over 280 cottah. There will be four G+16 towers with 384 flats of 2, 3 and 4 BHK. With Hafeez Contractor as one of the architects and landscaping by a Singapore firm, Ideal Grand has 50 per cent of its flats facing the river and the rest facing the garden. Seventy per cent of the flats have been sold to Shibpur locals, who are a mix of businessmen and salaried people. Ideal plans to give them possession by year-end.
