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Offering a choice between 2BHK and E3 apartments, Kalpataru Aura combines the best of spacious homes with the convenience of premium amenities. Rajesh Kulkarni takes a closer look to find out what’s on offer for potential buyers at this upmarket residential project. Photographs by Mexy Xavier
Spread across a mammoth 13.5 acres on a built up area measuring approximately 16 lakh sq ft, Kalpataru Aura, the premium residential project by Kalpataru Limited is easily one of the biggest ongoing projects at Ghatkopar West, Mumbai. Situated on the arterial Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg (LBS Marg) near Shreyas Cinema, this project will offer a choice on completion between 1,200 apartments in the configuration of 2BHK and E3 homes (a regular 2BHK with an extra smaller room). “We launched this project in 2006 and currently Phase 1 of the project is under development,” reveals Narendra Lodha, senior vice president (sales), Kalpataru Limited.
On the rationale behind developing a purely residential project at a time when mixed-use projects are said to be a more viable option Lodha explains, “We believe that a customer buying a residential apartment would prefer a peaceful surrounding more so because of the increasingly stressful lives that we all lead here. The idea was to develop a complex that offered spacious homes with all contemporary facilities like a clubhouse, gymnasium, party lounge, mini-theatre and outdoor sports facilities for lawn tennis, swimming pool and a squash court.”
He adds, “The reason why we did not include conveniences like say a hypermarket or restaurant is because these things are readily available in Mumbai which not only take care of a customer’s shopping needs but also offer free home delivery.”
Elaborating on the utility of the E3 homes concept introduced by the company Lodha says, “Most families need a 2BHK and an extra room is always a good value proposition especially if you have frequent guests. Many customers don’t have the budget to invest in a 3BHK. The idea was to give customers an additional room at a far lesser cost than a regular 3BHK.”
“The extra half room has been designed in such a way that customers have the option of merging the extra space to make a larger master bedroom or convert the extra room into a small study,” adds Snehal Parekh, DGM (Architecture), Kalpataru Limited.
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It’s the strategic location of the project, with its easy connectivity to both the Eastern and Western suburbs of the city that offers customers a big advantage stresses Lodha.
“Typically LBS Marg was dominated by factories and industrial units but this has changed over the last five years,” he says. From hosting industrial units to a slew of mixed bag realty projects, LBS Marg today is known to be a much sought-after location for developers eyeing the central suburbs.
“While that may be the case, industrial units also made a lot more money by selling their assets than continuing with their manufacturing operations,” asserts Lodha.
With Phase 1 scheduled for completion by the year end, the project appears to be well on track. “Starting from June this year, we have set timelines for the completion of different buildings as part of the first phase,” informs Lodha. “The first phase of the project includes about 520 units of which we have sold approximately 65-70% thus far.”
Lodha further adds that in keeping with the company’s strategy first preference has been given to end users.
He says, “At Kalpataru we generally don’t encourage investors. Our target audience has always been the end user since all our projects with their many amenities are designed keeping in mind the needs and comforts of actual users. Most of our customers for Aura are professionals and businessmen working in major commercial hubs like Vikhroli, Powai and Bandra-Kurla Complex. We have also seen a lot of NRIs booking homes here over the last few months to take advantage of the rupee depreciation and price corrections in the realty market.”
Justifying the premium positioning of the project, Parekh explains, “A project cannot be classified as a premium project just because the developer has provided Italian marble flooring in every apartment. The way a project is planned also plays a key role in its final positioning. At Aura, care has been taken to optimise cross-ventilation in every apartment to save on energy costs. Their positioning has been done in a way to ensure maximum natural light in every room. We have also opted for an underground parking system so as to allocate more space for landscaping purposes. A lot of thought has gone into the planning of the Aura project in terms of the layout, ensuring privacy of residents using the clubhouse and providing recreational spaces for children and senior citizens.”
“Given the current market scenario the focus now is on cutting costs, but we have opted to increase our specifications instead,” adds Lodha.
“We are offering a 20,000 sq ft clubhouse with a squash court, tennis court, spa and gymnasium with state-of-the-art equipment. We also have a party hall that can be compared to any five-star banquet hall for the exclusive use of Aura residents. The project also incorporates rain water harvesting facility and an underground sewage water reclamation plant to recycle water that will be used for flushing and landscaping purposes. All this has added to our costs but we have always believed that a good product in a bad market will sell faster than vice-versa.”
Beamless apartment planning is one of the many USP’s of Kalpataru Aura, ensuring the customers the flexibility to design their space effortlessly.
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COMMENT
hi..i am n interior designer..had bn 2 aura wid a friend,who owns a flat there..was very happy 2 see the construction qu