Chennai metro plans commercial developments around key phase  two stations 

In few years, you  may step off the metro and into workplace or an expansive shopping complex without having to step foot on the streets. This is what Metrorail has in store for the city, with plans to develop properties around phase-two metro stations in at least eight locations. Properties in Thirumangalam, Alandur, Vadapalani, KK Nagar, Mandaveli, Anna Nagar West, Thousand Lights, and Koyambedu have been identified for commercial development. While some of these properties have been acquired by CMRL for development, properties in other locations will be jointly developed with MTC. The property and stations will be linked through an exclusive walkway or pedestrian subway. At Thirumangalam, Metrorail has planned a 12-storey building. Metro trains will pass through and halt at the third floor of the building where the station will be located. A 450m-long plot near Thirumangalam flyover that earlier had three houses has been acquired for the construction. At Alandur, the development will be next to phase-one and two stations. MTC bus depots at Mandaveli and Anna Nagar West will be developed. According to CMRL’s annual report, they generated non-fare box revenue of 57.86 crore in the year 2022-2023, which was 65% more than the revenue of 34.98 crore in 2021-2022. 
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Godrej Properties buys two group housing plots in Gurugram for rs 515 crore 

Godrej Properties (GPL) has emerged as the highest bidder and has secured the letter of intent to develop two group housing plotsin Gurugram through an e-auction conducted by the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). The combined bid value for both the plots is Rs 515 crore. The plot measuring 3.6 acres is located in Golf Course Road whereas the plot measuring 1.97 acres is located in sector 39. The land parcels together will offer a development potential of over 1 million sq ft and an estimated revenue potential of over Rs 3,400 crore. In FY24, GPL bought two prime parcels of 5.15 acres and 2.76 acres in Golf Course Road from HSVP at auction and plans to launch both these projects in FY25. The company also won auctions for two land parcels in Greater Noida in the current quarter.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Clear Bridge Ventures acquries IT Park and Two acre land for rs 335 crore in Mumbai

Venture capital and investment firm Clear Bridge Ventures has purchased an information technology (IT) park along with a nearly 2-acres parcel it is built on in Mumbai’s western suburb Malad from Property Ventures (India) for Rs 335 crore. The seller of the IT Park 4th Dimension and the land parcel on Linking Road is a subsidiary of RK Marbles. The property with ground plus six floors was developed in 2002 and has over 147,000 sq ft saleable built-up area. The IT park also has 129 parking slots for car and transportation vehicles. Clear Bridge Ventures operates in the venture capital and investment space, focusing on providing funding and strategic support to startups and emerging businesses. ET’s separate email queries to Clear Bridge Ventures and RK Marbles remained unanswered until the time of going to press. Demand for office properties in India has witnessed a significant surge, driven by rapid expansion of IT and ITeS sectors, rise of startups and growing trend of hybrid workspaces. The demand is further bolstered by the return to physical offices post- pandemic, as businesses seek to enhance collaboration and innovation, leading to enhance collaboration and innovation, leading to increased leasing activity in key commerical hubs. 
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Cognizant puts headquaters in Chennai up for sale rs 800 Crore

Tech major Cognizant has put up its prime property, serving as its India headquarters for more than two decades, in Chennai for sale. The eventual sale of the property, comprising a 15-acre land parcel and four lakh sq ft office space on Chennai's IT Corridor, could fetch the company at least Rs 750 crore to Rs 800 crore, according to real estate industry estimates. The company has mandated international property advisory JLL to sell the prime property located at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam on OMR. The advisory firm has been talking to several prospective buyers including local developers - Baashyaam Group and Casagrand, the two names doing the rounds, but nothing has been finalised yet. Cognizant could not be reached for its comments. JLL declined to comment, saying the process is at a very premature stage. But market sources indicate that Cognizant would like to wind up the process and vacate the campus by December, 2024, after which its new India headquarters may function from the MEPZ campus near Tambaram on GST Road.  The move to sell this property is part of the company's process to consolidate its operations in three of its own buildings at MEPZ, Sholinganallur and Siruseri. It has been giving up leased spaces across Chennai including prominent addresses at Ramanujan IT Park, DLF as well as St Mary's Road offices in R A Puram.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Tamil Nadu CM launches six CMDA projects in North Chennai 

The upcoming ornamental fish trade centre in Kolathur will feature a two-storey building adorned with cylindrical aquariums, vibrant colored fish, and numerous other amenities. Chief minister M K Stalin laid the foundation for the project and five others under the North Chennai Development Scheme of CMDA, valued at 115.58 crore. He also inaugurated completed projects worth 5.22 crore in other departments. At a ceremony held at Siva Sakthi Colony in Villivakkam, Stalin laid the foundation for six new projects, including the fish trade centre, a community hall, a modern laundry hub and development projects for lakes at Puzhal, Retteri and Kolathur. He then inaugurated completed projects, including a civil supplies assistant commissioner’s office and a taluk office at Kolathur, a laundry hub and three fair price shops in Aynavaram. The CMDA will be establishing a community hall in North Chennai spread over 0.67 acres and a modern laundry at Purasaiwalkam spread over 1.04 acres. The Puzhal lake, spread over 8.17 acres, will be taken up for development, including a high-level walkway, natural viewing area, children’s play area, natural pond, drinking water and modern sewage facilities, at an estimated cost of 16.96 crore. On March 14, Stalin launched 219 projects worth 4,378 crore under the North Chennai Development Scheme, aimed at ensuring comprehensive development in the region.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Shriram Properties looks to crave its own identity

Shriram Properties (SPL) is looking to invest about Rs 2,000 crore in the next two to three years. It wants to move from current Rs 2,300 crore sales value to Rs 2,300 crore sales value to Rs 5,000 crore sales value during the same period. It also plans to double the development from 18 million sq ft to 30-35 million sq ft by the financial year 2026-27.  In an exclusive conversation with Ankit Sharma of ETRealty, M Murali, chairman & managing director (MD) and Gopalakrishnan J, executive director (ED) and group chief executive officer (CEO) of the company talked about their plans for the company in the next three year, idea behind the management changes and much more. Edited excerpts: The company has seen some management changes and reshuffling in the past few months. In December 2023, it inducted Vivek Venkateswar as chief sales & marketing officer (CSMO), in place of Jajit Menon, who had resigned from the position of director – sales marketing & CRM. During the same time, the company had also appointed Debasis Panigrahi as chief human resource officer (CHRO). In July 2024, SPL elevated Gopalakrishnan as ED & group CEO. He previously held the position of ED and group chief financial officer (CFO). K R Ramesh was appointed as executive director (strategy & corporate development), from his current position of ED-operations. Mitsubishi Corporation is looking for further investment with the company. SPL used to have a joint venture with Mitusbishi for a project - Shriram Park63, Chennai. They put about Rs 130 crore for 70% equity stake in the project. SPL gave them an exit by acquiring their stake through three tranches.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Group of Minister in Favour of bare minimum GST on Housing: Goa CM 

Cheif Minitster Pramod Sawant on Friday said the recently reconstitu group of ministers on real estate sector were of the opinion that the Good and Services Tax  (GST) on redevelopment projects. The chief minister also said that another issue discussed was whether a minimum GST should be imposed on houses which have undergone redevelopment and that the state govt has been asked to provide data on housing societies and industrial plots. “West Bengal, Punjab and Maharashtra have submitted their proposals. All states have been asked to submit the redevelopment schemes and revenue losses for each state.” The chief minister on Thursday urged Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu to stop domestic airlines from shifting their operations from Dabolim airport to Manohar International Airport at Mopa. He asked the minister to authorise new international flights for Dabolim and to reduce parking fees as well as user development fees. These measures, Sawant told the minister, will help the airport sustain operations. 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

EFC acquries 49 556 sqft in Pune for rs 80 crore

EFC, a wholly-owned unlisted subsidiary of EFC (I), has acquired 49,556 sq ft office space in Pune worth over Rs 80 crore. The center has a seating capacity over 1,500. It recently acquired another property in the city. In its earning conference call 80,000 sq ft of property in Pune. This is an freehold property that we have acquired under ownership, which will be developing and leasing under our managed office businees model . This acquistion has the potential to generate an annual revenue of about rs 14.41 crore. The company recently acquired 51% stake in Bigbox Venture which has a portfolio of over 3,000 seats in Pune and is aggressively expanding into the National Capital Region (NCR), Ahmedabad and Kolkata.  EFC (I) was also awarded design and build contract with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The company is currently managing about 2.25 million sq ft of assets, with 57 sites under management across seven cities. It has sitting capacity of about 47,000 seats and all as on June 30, 2024. The rental segment generated approximately Rs 66.79 crore, accounting for about 63.44% of company's total revenue, the design and build turnkey contracting business contributed Rs 35.03 crore, representing approximately 36.56% of the total revenue. It increased the area under leasehold rights by about three lakh sq ft, adding over 7,000 seats across seven centers and four existing cities during Q1 FY25.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Thirteen booked for irregularities worth rs 200 crore in MHADA building redevelopment plan

Thirteen persons have been booked for alleged involvement in irregularities concerning redevelopment of buildings on MHADA land, with Thane police on Friday claiming the amount involved may be upwards of Rs 200 crore. As per the FIR filed by Chitalsar police, a firm was given the contract to redevelop 18 buildings on land leased to these societies by the state run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, the official said. "The firm allegedly used a fake mortgage deed to obtain a loan of Rs 200 crore from another firm. However, this amount was not used for the redevelopment of the buildings. The firm obtained the loan by mortgaging the land on which the buildings stand to the lending firm. The NOC for this mortgage was allegedly given by the chairperson of one of the housing societies without taking the consent of residents or MHADA. Probe is underway to unravel the full details of the irregularities. No one has been arrested. 
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Developers Struggle to find Quality Contractors amid housing boom 

Real estate developers are finding it tough to get the right contractor for construction to ensure quality and timely delivery as the number of launches has doubled to approximately 1.25 lakh housing units across top seven cities every quarter from 60,000 before the Covid-19 pandemic. Many developers are boosting in-house capabilities while some are getting global contractors to ensure there is no delay in project delivery, industry insiders told ET. Some are also engaging construction tech companies. TARC Ltd recently appointed Abu Dhabi- headquartered Arabian Construction Company as the principal contractor for its luxury residential project TARC Kailasa in Central West Delhi and the upcoming TARC 63A in Gurgaon, while Trehan Iris said it is boosting in-house construction capabilities and partnering with global contractors. According to Anarock data, 2.36 lakh housing units were launched in the top seven cities in 2019, which dipped to 1.27 lakh in 2020 largely due to Covid and increased again to 2.36 lakh in 2021. The number rose to 3.57 lakh in 2022 and reached a record high of 4.45 lakh units in 2023. This year, it is expected to breach the 5-lakh mark.  Industry body Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (Credai) said appropriately skilling workers and developing a regulatory framework for them is the key to improve quality and speed of construction. 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

Hiranandani Greenbase to develop industrial, logistics parks on 391 acres in Chennai

Greenbase Industrial and Logistics Parks, realty major Hiranandani Group and US based private equity firm Blackstone Group’s joint venture, is set to acquire three land parcels spread over 211 acres across Southwest Chennai’s Oragadam area and in North Chennai, said a top official of the company. This land acquisition is expected to take the company’s total land holding to 391 acres in Chennai and Greenbase is planning to invest over Rs 700 crore to develop these land parcels into industrial parks in the current financial year itself. These new parks with total space of 7.5 million sq ft will take the company’s portfolio in Chennai alone to 11 million sq ft. The company remains bullish on India's logistics infrastructure sector, driven by existing shortages and emerging new demand catalyzed by geo-political realignment, the China-plus-one policy, the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and the Make in India programme. The region is witnessing robust demand due to favorable macroeconomic conditions, strategic policy reforms, government initiatives, high-quality infrastructure, and the availability of Grade A assets.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter

JSM Cement files draft papers with Sebi to raise rs 4000 crore via IPO

JSW Cement, part of Sajjan Jindal promoted diversified JSW Group, on Friday filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 4,000 crore through an initial public offer. The initial share sale comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 2,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 2,000 crore by investor shareholders, according to DRHP. As a part of the OFS, AP Asia Opportunistic Holdings Pte Ltd and Synergy Metals Investments Holding Ltd will offload shares worth Rs 937.5 crore each, and State Bank of India (SBI) will divest shares valued at Rs 125 crore. Its financial liabilities include a borrowing of Rs 1,678.90 crore, Rs 1,184.40 crore dues of creditors (other than micro and small enterprises) and other financial liabilities of Rs 842.02 crore. Its revenue from operations for FY24 stood at Rs 6,028.10 crore. This was Rs 5,836.72 crore in FY 23 and Rs 4,668.57 crore in FY22. JSW Cement is the sixth largest player in the segment led by Aditya Birla Group flagship firm UltraTech Cements.  Gautam Adani-led group owns ACC Ltd and acquired Sanghi Industries and ACCPL and is currently the second largest cement maker. It announced the acquisition of Hyderabad-based Penna Cement in June at an enterprise value of Rs 10,422 crore, taking its capacity to 93 MTPA. JM Financial Ltd, Axis Capital Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Ltd, DAM Capital Advisors Ltd, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Private Ltd, Jefferies India Private Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and SBI Capital Markets Ltd are responsible for managing the company's IPO process.
 

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter