Living it up in the 'burbs

Delhi's developers are betting big on crore-plus condos far from the heart of the Capital

Will middle-class Indians pay a crore or two to live 30 km from the heart of Delhi? A clutch of fast-moving real estate developers led by companies like Vatika and the giant DLF "" which owns large tracts of land in Gurgaon "" are betting they will.

The attraction: plush, sprawling condominiums or villas surrounded by acres of forests and lush greenery. Other upmarket accessories like jacuzzis and health clubs are, of course, mandatory.

Take a look at DLF's super-premium Aralia complex, scheduled to be ready in a year's time. The complex overlooks the DLF Golf Club and will have spacious 5,575 sq ft apartments and 9,600 sq ft penthouses. The apartments (about 250 of them) are selling for around Rs 2 crore and the penthouses for around Rs 4,3 crore.

Or, look at Vatika City, an upmarket cluster of 1,600 apartments and villas that will stretch over a giant 60-acre spread. A few independent villas which the group plans to sell to celebrities are priced at around Rs 3.5 crore. And about 200 of the bigger apartments are retailing for over Rs 1.5 crore.

What will Rs 1.5 crore buy in Vatika City? Key features of the crore-plus apartments include central air-conditioning (and that includes the balconies) and Italian marble.

There will also be sandwich glass windows for soundproofing and, of course, the obligatory jacuzzis and saunas. Security features will include swipe card access and video intercoms.

The days when buying a flat meant buying an empty shell and little else are over. These new, upmarket projects are selling partly on the add-ons they offer. So, Vatika City is planning to have ATM facilities, and a supermarket in the complex.

Inevitably, there will be a club house, a health club, an outdoor sports complex, an amphitheatre and a community hall. For the next generation there will be a staffed creche. Vatika City will be completed only by December 2006, but Gaurav Bhalla, director, Vatika Group says that around 550 of the apartments have already been sold.

DLF and Vatika don't have the field to themselves when it comes to upmarket accommodation. Take Unitech Builders, which is erecting several projects aimed at upmarket urban dwellers. For a start, there's the Rs 500-crore World Spa, spread over 21 acres and divided into separate complexes on two sides of the highway.

"This will be the most exclusive and luxurious residential development in the NCR," claims Sanjay Chandra, director, Unitech, adding that around Rs 400 crore of the property has already been sold.

World Spa East and World Spa West will each have a luxury fitness centre and spa in addition to two-level underground parking. The design and landscaping is being done by the Seattle-based Callison. "We are using international architects for all our projects," says Chandra.

Unitech also has the Rs 1,000 crore Nirvana Country, a complex of high-end apartments and villas being developed over 300 acres of land in Gurgaon. This project will offer single floor and duplex villas in various sizes.

The highest-end villas will cost around Rs 1.2 crore each. Construction on the first few blocks has already begun and the blueprint includes a landscaped park, with sand pits, splash pools and gazebos.

DLF began constructing its complex of super-premium apartments, the Aralias, in November 2002. Key facilities in the complex will include a car-calling system, a car washing and water softening plant, and 100 per cent power back up to 30 KVA.

The Aralias also conform to Zone-V earthquake specifications and will include a creche, laundromat and club. The 250 apartments will be ready in a little over a year.

Who are the target customers for such high-value property? Understandably, with apartments and villas in the Rs 1 crore-plus bracket, the builders are targeting high net worth individuals.

"We have a large customer base of senior executives and NRIs," says Unitech's Chandra. That explains the attempt to create an international feel "" through fancy tower and block names like Deerwood Chase and Cedar Crest.

Naturally, attention to detail is a must. "Buyers of high-end products are looking for a great design and ambience," says Chandra. Other factors, he says, are the lifestyle features and amenities offered as well as the right kind of neighbours.

"Creating a good neighbourhood was high priority," says Chandra, "so many of our top-end projects were sold by invitation only to like-minded people of similar profiles." These include senior and top management employees of large corporations.

All this means the promotion has to be equally fancy. And when bucolic builders let their inner poets loose, the results can be amusing. Unitech is promising buyers a place where "the sky above and the earth below belong only to you, and nature is but a window away" "" that's Nirvana Country.

Meanwhile, in Noida, Omaxe is enticing wealthy house-seekers by promising them "shimmering lagoons, colourful flowers and friendly animals" as part of the experience of residing in The Forest apartments, surrounded by 325 acres of greenery.

Omaxe Construction is promoting The Forest as "poetry in glass and steel" and intends it to be a self-contained mini-town. Located in Noida's Sector 92, the actual construction site occupies six acres but this is bordered by around 325 acres of jungle. "It enables us to promise permanent greenery, something few others can offer" says Kunal Banerji, vice-president, marketing, Omaxe.

As if that isn't enough, the company's blueprint for the project includes a rivulet winding sinuously around the complex and seven towers, with names like Ridgewood and Tennessee. Each tower will house 15 apartments "" making 105 in all "" priced at between Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 2.4 crore.

Some of the towers will be bridged to create sky gardens and private terraces. What can you expect if you buy a 6,500 sq ft penthouse here? Well a terrace garden with a swimming pool for one.

The master bedroom will be almost like a mini-health club with a sauna, steam bath, jacuzzi and massage chair. The open kitchen will have imported modular cabinets, a granite counter and flooring, and the exterior finish will be of aluminium panels cladding. And don't forget the lily pond in the family lounge.

Then there's Senior Builders, which is promising a "lime lighted lifestyle where privacy is highlighted". The group is building a township with luxury apartments and penthouses over 14 acres in Sector 15, Gurgaon. While the apartments' prices will start at Rs 60 lakh, the penthouses will fall in the Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore bracket.

"We will provide high-end technical specifications to make the township ultra-modern," says Vijay Dixit, managing director, Senior Builders. The amenities will include high-security equipment such as CCTV.

While Gurgaon and Noida are the locations of choice for many builders, Ansal Properties sees promise in Delhi's posh Palam Vihar colony.

Ansal has recently launched Celebrity Stars, a condominium of air-conditioned apartments and penthomes at Palam Vihar. The Rs 45-crore Celebrity Stars is the top-end part of a fully functional complex called Celebrity Complex where around 35 families are already residing.

The penthomes available in Celebrity Stars will be between 4,170 sq ft and 5,090 sq ft in area, and will sell for Rs 1 crore upwards. Each unit is being planned over three levels and will include a private pool and a terrace garden.

"Palam is a good location because it is closer than Gurgaon and Noida to the heart of the city," says Aditya Wadhera, general manager, marketing, Ansal Properties.

"Besides, it is very close to the international airport." That's an important consideration given that the buyers will certainly be highflyers.