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High-end Living In Hyderabad Reaches The Sky
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | November 8, 2007 | 5,700 views
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Luxury is getting redefined almost everyday now. Manjula Kolanu and Radhika Rani look at what it entails in Hyderabad now.
Hyderabad has never had it so good. And definitely not in terms of housing. In tune with its tendency to keep up with the Joneses as well as their neighbours, Hyderabad is witnessing a lifestyle that demands more luxury than ever before.
Whether people are trying to give a new spin to the age-old adage of charity begins at home’, or they are simply disposing their high incomes, they are doing everything they can to indulge in the very best of amenities to make their homes havens of space and style. If this comes at an exorbitant cost, then so be it, because in what is an example of capitalistic excess, ‘cost no bar’ has become the mantra of discerning luxury home buyers in Hyderabad.
What is luxury for Hyderabad?
Till five years ago, Hyderabad was better known for its affordable real estate and a very low cost of living. Till then apartments were frowned upon and even the middle class could afford to own a fairly large independent house, albeit on the suburbs. Spiralling land prices in an ever-expanding city populated with a work force that is well aware of global standards has pushed up construction and design standards and continually redefined luxury.
The benchmarks of luxury housing vary from city to city, often depending on the land prices there. So it is quite common to find even small apartments of 1000 sq ft that cost about one crore in Mumbai, but Hyderabad has always been far more affordable. It joined the big league of luxury housing about two years back. Here, when it comes to housing, size matters, so that a `luxurious’ house must have an area of at least 2500 sq ft. Price wise, till last year the most expensive houses in Hyderabad were bungalows priced at around Rs 3 crores.
That was till Omega Shelters launched the Casa Estebana comprising 44 villas spread over 50 acres and an impressive 89 per cent land devoted to open area. Each villa owned at least half an acre and was pegged at a price between Rs 4.75 crores to Rs 14 crores. Hyderabad gasped as it found its benchmarks had surpassed that of famed ventures in neighbouring Bangalore and Chennai. That was hardly surprising considering that the Rs 220 crore venture at Kompally included homes of 7,800 sq ft to 16,000 sq ft, all signature Spanish casas, villas, palacios and quintas.
Perhaps that is just one of its kind, yet other ventures have also ramped up their design to offer premium homes. Landmark group manager T Virender says, “People are tired of pollution of all kinds - air, sound and water within the city limits, so those who can afford it opt for a serene and pristine environment to live in even fi it means moving away from the commercial hub of the city. So luxury communities thrive in blankets of greenery. As a result a lot of open area is provided in luxury communities”.
Now even apartments in high-rises offer ultra-modern facilities with swanky interiors and unrivalled amenities in order to transform a mediocre apartment to match the standards of the next generation. Mahender B head of marketing and sales, Indu Fortune Fields defines a luxury villa as “One that probably costs between Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.5 crore with the plot size more than 275 sq yards and a built-up area of 3,000 sq feet. It is ideally located in a gated community of at least 20 acres and accommodates about 150 units.” Indu group has a luxurious villa-cumapartment project that is coming up at Hitec City.
Among high-rise apartments, Lanco Hills from the Lanco Group is high on luxurious ambience and amenities. Each unit of its residential towers boasts of exclusive features like floor to ceiling glass windows for a panoramic view, centralised air-conditioning for bedrooms and hall, stylish flooring, shower cubicles, modular kitchen, separate rooms for domestic help, international sanitary and electrical fixtures all provided in living spaces ranging between 1800 sq ft to 4200 sq ft. This mixed development project also envisages futuristic designer signature towers that could offer totally customised interiors when they are launched.
Such features of luxury villas and apartments are a result of meticulous planning and design, with international architectural names being roped in.For instance, Alliance Group ‘s Inner Cirlce venture of villas at Shamirpet is designed by Surbana, a firm of architects from Singapore. Bimal K Payyan its marketing and sales director says, “Each villa has been designed to accommodate cobbled pathways, manicured lawns and trees in driveways. Other features are a luxury 5-star resort hotel with banquet halls, restaurants and a spa. The hotel will have two banquet halls to accommodate 200 people in each and two specialty restaurants. We are also catering to the health needs of residents by offering Indian treatments like body scrubs, wraps as well as Ayurveda, yoga and meditation at the spa.” Other exclusive features are a room for snooker, carom, chess and table tennis, party hall, health center - sauna and steam with a massage room and showers, children’s play area, barbecue area, grocery store, and an ATM facility.
Play with technology
Apart from the sheer size of the homes and the pricing that goes Rs 4000 per sq ft upwards, luxury housing in Hyderabad has become synonymous with modernity, both in the usage of technology to facilitate construction as well in providing lifestyle solutions. For instance, hydro-pneumatic pumps are widely used for continuous supply of water, RO plants for clean drinking water and sewage treatment plants for waste-water management. Installation and maintenance of water bodies and landscaped spaces are also technology-intensive.
Analysts say that the city’s current security concerns will also see a rise in developers investing in high-tech security systems including centralised monitoring sytems.
Taking such luxuries a step further, Space Station from the Aliens Group ushers in hightech solutions in the form of biometric security, home automation, wi-fi enabled homes, 24 hours CCTV cameras accessible from apartments, high speed glass elevators, power backup, spa with sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath and more. Hari Challa, the managing director of Aliens Group says, “We are trying to address the needs of the fast paced, tech savvy and intelligent cosmopolitan people.”
Recreation facilities at high-end ventures are also of world-class standards. Pochendar Shenigarapu, director and CEO, Lanco Hills elaborates, “When you have a long working day you may not be inclined to go far away for any recreation at the end of the day. But if townships can provide every facility and comfort closer at home, it makes them want to do more. We are encouraging people to stay close to home and do everything they can to stay fit and happy. So we offer sporting facilities, air-conditioned gyms, temperature-controlled swimming pools, toddler pools, separate spas for women and men, a clubhouse where family functions can be held and suites in the club that can host their guests, lounges, a mini-theatre and also a pathway on which people can stroll, a coffee shop, guest rooms serviced by the restaurant at nominal fee, convenience store and a pharmacy.”
Reality check
Well, if all this sounds like so much hype, you really should check it out for yourself. Faced with stiff competition and with huge investments at stake, developers are keen on proving their credibility. As a result, they are putting out model apartments and villas to showcase their ability and the amenities they provide. Pochendar Shenigarapu says, “These ventures take a long time to develop completely. Till then, developers have nothing to show except glossy brochures that promise a lot. So we put up two model houses to give our buyers a glimpse of what they are actually getting. These days its not easy to fool customers; they are quite aware of what the market offers and are constantly comparing with others. For developers too, it heartening to see customers walking out satisfied that they are actually getting what they have been promised.
If all these comforts come at a high cost, then people in Hyderabad are not complaining. They guesstimate that rising construction costs and land prices will only push up prices more, so its better to buy now then later. But with limited openings in this segment, luxury houses that meet all these requirements will definitely see increasing in demand in the city, thanks to its aspirational craving for the best that the world can offer.
What a luxury unit offers
What is super duper luxury
- 24 hours CCTV cameras accessible from apartments
- Bio-metric security
- Home automation
- Rooms for domestic help
- Designated space pantry and utility areas
- Designated space for home gym or bar
- Spa with sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath
- Centralised cooking gas connection
- Clubhouse with suites for guests
- Spa with sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath
- Tennis, squash and basket ball courts
- Overhead sky bridge inter-connecting apartment blocks
SOURCES:
Times Of India
Topics: Property Matters, Dream Home, Latest Trends, Reports, Real Estate |
One Response to “High-end Living In Hyderabad Reaches The Sky”
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December 27th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
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