Whitefield land prices touch Rs 8 cr per acre

Suburban and peripheral areas continue to find favour with corporates looking for a long-term commitment in Bangalore. In this scenario , Whitefield is continues to be the favourite destination, thanks to the good infrastructure compared to other investment destinations.

With all eyes set on Whitefield, land prices here have touched Rs 8 crore per acre, depending on the location and status (with all clearance) of the land. This steep rise in prices is being attributed to drying up of land availability in the region.

Traditionally in the Whitefield area, IT companies for their land requirement relied on KIADB, old sick industries (K R Puram belt) and private agricultural land for setting up their campus.

But now, all KIADB and private agricultural land having been lapped up by companies and investors, what is left are sick industrial units around the K R Puram belt. But here some of the old companies with huge estates are still functioning, thereby leading to scarcity of land, according to Shivram Malakala, executive director, Habitat Ventures.

When ITPL came up in the mid 1990s, about 15,000 acres of land became available in Whitefield, mainly centring around ITPL. Now of the land available, 30 per cent has been developed so far for the creation of Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) by KIADB, 20 per cent has been taken up by old industries, 30 per cent by projects in pipeline and the balance is in various stages of planning or in investors hands.

"Corporates looking for a long-term commitment in Bangalore find suburban and peripheral areas suitable. The classic selling proposition of space in these areas is large floor plate, excellent car parking facilities and expansion/growth opportunities. The office space supply in locations such as Whitefield and Electronics City has now overtaken the demand; hence the rental values are not likely to escalate further in the near future," said Ram T Chandnani, head south India operations at CB Richard Ellis.

KIADB which allotted land in Whitefield has exhausted all its land parcels and is said to be planning a new industrial zone along the perepheral ring road.

"Sky rocketing of land prices in Whitefield has led many builders and companies to look at alternate locations and have set eyes on Kanakapura road for their land requirements," said Jack Nazereth, vice-president, sales and marketing, Sobha Developers.

"Approximately 8.8 million sqft of space is under construction in suburban and peripheral areas and would be ready for possession by the end of the year; of which 3.65 million sqft is pre-committed or leased," he added.

With land almost fully booked, now it is the turn of developers of shopping malls and residential complexes who have set their eyes on Whitefield.

People associated with the realty business say that the area enjoys good connectivity, in terms of roads, as compared to most suburban and peripheral areas.

"It is estimated that 6-8 million square feet of tech space is in the process of being created over the next 2-3 years. Further, over 20,000 apartment units, plots and villas catering to the middle, upper middle and premium segments are being created in the area," said Mayank Saksena, looking after land and investment, Chesterton Meghraj Property Consultants.