North Bangalore set to take-off

North may soon thumb its nose at South
Devanahalli Dream Boosts Real Estate Projects In North Bangalore
Times of India

Bangalore: This could be what north Bangalore has been waiting for. Philips Software has just signed a deal with Mfar Constructions to set up a massive 12-acre campus, with built-up area of 7 lakh sq ft, on the Outer Ring Road near Hebbal. The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in about 10 months, and the entire project in two years.

This will be the biggest single commercial development, and certainly the first major real estate development for the IT sector, in that part of Bangalore. And it is widely expected that the project will encourage many others now to look beyond the current growth areas in east and south Bangalore.

“The Philips deal will bring a lot of confidence to that part of the market. We expect a drastic upward movement in values once the company moves into the campus in about a year,” says Mayank Saksena of Chesterton Meghraj Property Consultants. “North Bangalore will be the next happening place. Already prices in areas up to Devanahalli have gone up significantly,” says J.C. Sharma, managing director, Sobha Developers, a property development company that was one of the earliest to start building large and premium residential projects in north Bangalore.

The proposed Devanahalli airport was what brought excitement to north Bangalore initially. Since then, a number of impressive projects, mostly residential, have been lined up and are in various stages of planning and implementation. These include the Arkavathy layout, the Sahara township and M.S. Ramaiah group’s North City. The Beary group is set to launch a project overlooking the Hebbal lake which according to the group’s director Syed Md. Beary will be the tallest building in south India. The complex includes two towers of 24-storeys each connected in the middle.

However, major commercial development has so far been limited largely to the Kirloskar-Embassy business park, where Astra Zeneca and MRO-TEK have taken spaces. It is this limitation that is seen to have so far held back faster growth in the area, and it is this that the entry of a global corporation like Philips could change. The Royal Garden City (or the NRI City), a commercial-cum-residential project which recently received FIPB approval, could also change the dynamics of the area. The project is awaiting state government clearances.

“Some 10-15 large projects are happening in the corridor towards Devanahalli. All that will be complete in about two years. We can expect a real take off in the area then,” says Beary. However, much still depends on the international airport. And a real take off perhaps can only be guaranteed if the uncertainties surrounding the airport are quickly cleared.

LIKELY LANDMARKS

Bangalore international airport.
Philips Software campus on 12 acres.
Beary group's residential towers, which will be Bangalore's tallest building.
Arkavathy layout.
Royal Garden City.