Launches commercial project at Koregaon Park Annexe for which it is investing Rs 120 crore.

Merlin Group forays in Pune realty market with Rs 2,000 crore investment.

MUMBAI, 6 JULY, 2022 (GPN): Kolkata – baded Merlin Group, on July 5 announced its entry into the Pune realty market with the launch of a commercial project spread across an area of 1.5 lakh sq ft for which it will be investing Rs 120 crore. Overall, the company plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore for the construction of real estate projects spread across an area of 30 lakh sq ft in Pune.

Named 18 East, the commercial project is located at Koregaon Park Annexe. It will be spread across 1.5 lakh sq. ft. and will be 74 metres high. The construction work for the project has begun and it will be ready by the year 2025. According to the company, the RERA deadline is December 2026, but they intend to complete the project by December 2025.

The tower is expected to have 20 storeys with 16 floors dedicated to offices ranging from 569 sq. ft to 5830 sq. ft. It would include Flexi offices. The building will also have retail showrooms with sizes ranging from 1586 sq. ft to 2026 sq.ft. The project will have two basements and three levels of podium parking.

The group is planning to expand its footprint in the real estate landscape of Pune with over 30 lakh sq. ft. of proposed inventory. The group is coming up with a host of premium residential and commercial projects in Koregaon Park Annexe., Wakad, Baner and Jambhulwadi. Apart from Pune, the group is also looking at the Chennai market which it has 40 million square feet under construction.

The group has developed over 20 million sq. ft. of projects in Kolkata and has a presence in Chennai, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“We have delivered over 100 projects and possess over 500-acre landbank. Currently, we have more than 20 projects ongoing in Kolkata and many more are in the pipeline. Kolkata is our base and we have expanded our footprint In Pune as this city has tremendous potential in terms of real estate development.

“The real estate market of Pune is expected to see a rising graph on both residential and commercial fronts, so much so that 2022 will surpass the average of overall residential sales in the last five years.”

“We are excited about our foray into Pune. It is one of the most vibrant cities in India with humongous potential in terms of economic and industrial development. We have plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore with ambitious projects over the next five years in the second-largest city of Maharashtra”,

Around Rs 120 crore will be invested in our Koregaon Park commercial project where we are constructing 1.50 lakh of commercial space. The per square feet rate here is Rs11,000 to 13,000.

“This will be followed by investing another Rs 500 crore each in Wakad and Barner area where we are constructing over 20 lakh square feet. We will construct 2 BHK and 3 BHK when it comes to the residential segment, ” Saket Mohta, managing director, Merlin Group told GPN (Global Prime News Media).

When asked if the group is foraying into Pune because there is no clarity on RERA registration in the West Bengal real estate market, Mohta said, “We have a legacy of nearly 4 decades and we have developed malls, IT Parks, housing, commercial projects.

“The group has launched its first state-of–the-art commercial skyscraper 18 East. The group already has land parcels to build 40 lakh sq ft inventory over next few years. The group is coming up with a host of premium residential and commercial projects in Koregaon Park Annexe, Wakad, Baner and Jambhulwadi,” Mohta said.

The eastern India realty major said they will focus on the Pune market and do not propose foray into Mumbai any time soon.  The home buying sentiment saw a considerable improvement starting January 2022 and by the end of the quarter, the market witnessed new inventories in the Rs 40-80 lakh budget segment, he said.

Speaking about input cost, Mohta said the export duty on steel by the government has helped some easing in steel prices which was skyrocketing.

“There is some respite in input cost. The corrective step by the government should have come earlier but nevertheless, it has helped the consumers,” he said.-Ends.