'Meherangir', the iconic bungalow once owned by the Homi Bhabha family in the tony Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai, is up for grabs, and is likely to fetch Rs 250-275 crore, going by the base price.
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) has issued a public notice inviting buyers for the property overlooking the Hanging Gardens and spread over 1,593 sq meters of land.
The expected price translates into a rate of Rs 1.45 lakh per square feet, which would make the sale the costliest land deal in the city to date.
The Rs 91,000 per sq ft paid by Peninsula Property for Bishopgate bungalow at Breach Candy, owned by StanChart and HSBC, was the steepest price paid for land in the city so far.
Jamshed Bhabha, a former senior Tata Group honcho and founder chairman of the NCPA, became the sole owner of the property after his brother and the father of the country's nuclear-programme Dr Homi Bhabha died in 1966.
After Jamshed Bhabha's death in 2007, the NCPA got the possession of the property.
"The base price is around Rs 250 crore. We expect the deal to fetch at least Rs 275 crore," an industry expert said.
Global property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle is advising NCPA, country's premier cultural institution, for the sale.
This is the first iconic property to be put on block in the megapolis this year.
Last year, Mumbai witnessed some large-size deals, including the sale of Cadbury House to diamond merchant Dilipkumar Lakhi and private equity firm Blackstone and Pune-based Panchshil Realty buying majority stake in the iconic Express Towers in south Mumbai.
Citi India's headquarters at BKC was also put on block last year.
