MUMBAI: The self-redevelopment model, where residents rebuild their homes without a builder, is gaining momentum in Mumbai.
The 220-member Sachin Cooperative Housing Society spread over five acres in Mulund (east) will be the largest residential complex in the city to go in for self-redevelopment.
After holding a ballot in which the majority of the members
voted to rebuild the property themselves, the society recently appointed global
real estate consultant Knight Frank as its project management
consultant to prepare a roadmap. The project is estimated to cost Rs 700 crore.
The project has evinced interest among some of the world’s biggest
architectural firms. Last month, architect Chris Bubb of the London-based
Foster+Partner, visited the society and met the residents.
Society members said Bubb was impressed with the residents’ initiative and
expressed his intent to work for the project.
Another leading London-based firm, Knox Bhavan Architects, is sending a team to
Mumbai next February to explore the Mulund project.
In an email to TOI, Sasha Bhavan, founder partner of Knox Bhavan Architects,
said: “Major cities around the world like Mumbai, Paris, London are
becoming ghettos for the super-rich, where low and middle-income groups are
being pushed out into sprawling suburbs. The model of housing associations and cooperatives
taking control of their own housing, and destiny in Mumbai, offers a unique
opportunity to break this pattern. We want to be part of this ground- breaking
model and bring to it our expertise of making residential space which works
hard to improve and enhance everyday life.”
Bhavan said the exponential growth and urbanisation of Mumbai offers a chance
to design buildings and homes in a creative and thoughtful way. “The
potential for financial profit should benefit the many instead of just the few,”
she added.
Vilas Narsapur, associate director, Knight Frank India, whose team prepared a
feasibility report for Sachin society, said the challenge is to redevelop the
property without displacing the residents. “The families are confident and
excited. We have dispelled their fears,” said Narsapur, adding that Knight
Frank will soon float global tenders to appoint the architect.
The 20,000 sq m property currently has ten low-rise buildings built in the
1970s. Residents are firm that they do not want to vacate their existing homes
when the project starts. The plan is to build a new tower on a portion of the
land without demolishing any of the existing buildings.
Two years ago, the society invited bids from builders, but none of them
qualified during the pre-tendering stage. “We did not want to be
short-changed by a builder, so we decided to redevelop the buildings on our
own,” said Sadanand Manekar, the society’s secretary.
Flat sizes range between 500 sq ft and 700 sq ft, but after redevelopment, the
society hopes to offer 45% extra space to each family. A substantial amount
will also be paid to every member after some of the redeveloped flats are sold
in the open market. The society expects the project to generate about 2.5 lakh
sq ft of saleable area.
Manekar said once municipal permissions are procured, the construction time
limit will be 36 months.
Housing activist Chandrashekhar Prabhu said with builders losing the trust of
the people, a new model has emerged with architects, PMCs, contractors and
other professionals taking full responsibility for successful execution of such
projects.
“As many as 726 societies have already resolved to go by the no-builder
scheme and are reaping rich dividends in the form of more area, better
planning, better quality of construction, timely completion, more corpus, all
without giving any irrevocable power of attorney to anybody. The members give
consent to their society and get at least one room more than what builders
offered. Moreover the corpus is at least double of what the builders give. The
benefits increase in MHADA
colonies because the FSI is much more,” said Prabhu.
