Thane City is one of the fastest-developing residential and realty markets in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The borders of the city keep expanding as more people choose to make this vibrant and thriving city their home. More and more corporates are also opting to locate their offices and branches in Thane, thus taking advantage of the economical realty rates as compared to the island city, and the improving infrastructure. With numerous malls and shopping centers spread across this city, Thane has also seen a boom in retail spending from both consumers and premium retail brands. Cushman & Wakefield’s research supports this – its Mumbai Retail MarketBeat for Q3 2019 indicates that mall rentals in Thane have increased 10.7% Y-o-Y in this period, showcasing Thane’s growing clout as a retail hub.

As a result of this rapid growth numerous neighbourhoods have emerged as more favourable than others for an overall engaging experience. Pokhran Road 2 is one such neighbourhood. In addition to being a well-maintained, busy arterial route, Pokhran Road 2 is also an investor’s dream location. Here’s why…

Fast-Growing Residential Market

Pokhran Road 2 has witnessed tremendous residential growth in the last decade. A number of residential gated communities by top realty brands have come up on this major road and in the general neighbourhood. A new gated community with a sprawling retail center is now coming up on this road. This translates to a huge captive audience as well as access to the nearby communities, and an opportunity to offer a high value retail experience across the shopping spectrum of goods and services. The advantage of being located in an immersive retail space on Pokhran Road 2 is that your retail outlet will be the first option for customers residing in this neighbourhood thus giving your brand the first mover advantage in attracting customers.

Retail-Savvy Customers

As more branded residential communities have come up on Pokhran Road 2 the diversity of the population has widened leading to a customer base with varied buying tastes and more refined shopping habits. This is also reflected, on a wider scale, in the expansion of numerous top brands and retail chains and franchises to Thane city. Pokhran Road 2 is also an office hub with the offices of top employers such as TCS, Tata AIG and Glaxo-SmithKline located here. Their employees represent another base of customers for whom quick shopping trips (or even just window shopping) to a retail center located close to their office is very welcome.

Increased Retail Scope

Pokhran Road 2 is an upmarket neighbourhood which has a high residential density but a low retail density thus making it a ripe market for the presence of a busy and thriving retail market that is home to big brands and favourite premium brands. The presence of employment hubs nearby means working consumers on the look-out for a top-of-the-line retail experience close to the workplace. Being the only and a hyper-engaging retail center on Pokhran Road 2 offers enormous opportunities to your brand for effective marketing, steadier brand recall and immersive brand engagement with current and potential loyal customers. 

Well-Connected Location

Pokhran Road 2 is one of the most strategically located neighbourhoods of Thane. It is right off the busy and important Majiwada junction. This junction is the site of the metro station for the upcoming Metro Line 4 (Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavli). The Majiwada junction is also an important junction where various arterial routes converge – namely the Eastern Express Highway and the Mumbai-Agra National Highway. A few minutes away is the Kapurbawdi junction where the Eastern Express Highway meets the Mumbai-Nashik Highway which also leads to fast-developing suburbs such as Bhiwandi and Kalyan.

Thus, a high-value retail outlet located on Pokhran Road 2, close to these important junctions, would bring a high footfall of customers looking for an engaging shopping experience while also benefiting from a better transit experience thanks to the favourable location which ensures good connectivity.

In Conclusion…

Most successful marketing mantras suggest location is one of the keys to the success of any brand. Upmarket Pokhran Road 2, with its high consumer density thanks to the many residential communities as well as offices, provides an outright opportunity for brand success. Locating your retail outlet on Pokhran Road 2 with its excellent connectivity, easy access to consumers looking for high-end retail experiences and an upcoming retail center by a top real estate brand is the easiest and most favourable retail marketing decision to make.

Thane, a leading real estate destination, has an explosive and exciting market of budget to premium housing options by reputed developers. It is transforming from being an investor favourite city to an end-user favourite city.

When one of the oldest real estate brands in the country enters this city for the first time, it is likely to create buzz. The hoardings for Shapoorji Pallonji’s premier venture in Thane, Northern Lights, are hard to miss when one is out and about the city. The project is located in the coveted neighbourhood of Pokharan Road No.2 and offers premium apartments and amenities.

Location and Social Infrastructure: Northern Lights

When it comes to buying a house, good location comes under one of the primary factors which one looks at. Having well-developed social infrastructure nearby, well-maintained roads and ease in connectivity are necessities to make day-to-day life easier.

The project is located at the junction where the Eastern Express Highway and Pokharan Road No.2 meet, both of which are arterial roads of Thane. The Eastern Express highway is a major arterial road and stretches from Sion in Mumbai to Thane, Its further extension which goes up to Mira Road in the western suburbs is known as Ghodbunder Road. Thus, the project is located close to major roads. A major landmark, right opposite the site, is the Tata Consultancy Services office, on the TCS Road.

Two major junctions, Cadbury junction and Majiwada junction are located at a distance of 2.6 km and 1 km respectively. Since the buses operated by most major operators, including BEST, NMMT and TMT halt at both these stops, the site enjoys good access via public transport too.

The site also enjoys advantages from the foreseeable infrastructure development in the city. There is an approved metro station at Majiwada junction [0.85 km away] which will be a part of the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro 5 corridor. This metro line will connect to the Gaimukh-Kashimira-Mira Road metro line thus providing access to the western suburbs of Mumbai. The city is also likely to be a stop for the much-anticipated Bullet Train service.

Social Infrastructure

The project site is located in close proximity to Jupiter Hospital [2.3 km], a well-known multi-specialty hospital. Hospitals within 2 km radius of the site include Bethany Hospital and Currae Hospital. Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, one of the best schools in the country, is located 3.7 km away from the site. Other schools located close to the site include Vasant Vihar High School [1.4 km] and CP Goenka International School.

Entertainment and retail facilities such as Viviana Mall [1.2 km], Vasant Vihar Plaza [1.5 km] and Korum Mall [3.2 km] are also well within reach from the site.

About the project: Northern Lights

The project will be developed over a 4.8 acre land parcel, featuring more than 60 amenities over two levels of dedicated amenities section. The Northern Lights towers are anticipated to be the tallest towers in Thane city. There is a proposed retail complex within the premises of the project, raising the bar for their resident’s standard of living. The amenity podiums will be completely vehicle-free, ensuring the safety and privacy of residents. The provision of covered car parking for all residents will ensure vehicles remain damage proof.

The table below shows the available configurations with their respective areas in the project.

Configuration	RERA Carpet Area in sq. ft.
2 BHK	549.72
2 BHK	542.94
2 BHK	618.28
2 BHK	623.56
2+2 BHK	1090.08
1+2 BHK	1042.29

At present, the project offers premium 2 BHK and Flexi apartments starting at Rs. 1.1 Crore. Buyers are also being offered a financial scheme wherein they pay 10% on booking and no pre-EMI till 2022. Additional features of the project include provision of air purifiers in the apartments and the entire premises with all its provisions will be maintained by Forbes Facility Management.

Amenities: Northern Lights

There are several options for residents’ recreation and leisure in Northern Lights, Thane. The amenities cater to residents of all age groups.

The wellness amenities include a spa, yoga deck, sauna, reflexology area, jacuzzi, medical emergency room and meditation court. The heath and fitness amenities include a multipurpose court, gymnasium, swimming pool, fitness centre, spinning room, pilates room, crossfit zone and tai-chi zone. The entertainment amenities include a party lawn, multi-purpose lawn, poolside garden, amphitheatre, Alfresco dancing, roof terrace barbeque area and a topical aquarium.

There are options for recreation such as pool deck, music room, indoor amenities area, children’s play area [slam dunk], a card room, electronics youth room, a library, a family/ children’s pool, family lap pool, cricket pitch, clubhouse, urban farming zone, adventure climbing wall, arts and crafts room, sand pit, martial arts room and a pocket garden.

There are also utilitarian amenities such as business centre, laundry room, creche, day care, seating corner, shower area with green wall, timber deck, hammock lounge, fire engine access, steps with canopy, viewing trellis, pedestrian walkway, pet walkway, multipurpose room, food hall and guest suites.

Conclusion

A gated community with a trusted brand name speaks for itself. With Acropolis, Patropolis, Heliopolis, Vicinia and The Imperial in Mumbai, SP Infocity in Pune and Park West in Bengaluru among its many real estate developments, Shapoorji Pallonji is an established name in the real estate business. Furthermore, a development in a key real estate market such as Thane- right in the city centre has its own location benefits. According to market trend predictions, the prices in the area of Pokharan Road No.2 are premium to Thane and MMR by 129% and 33% respectively. Therefore this project can be added to the list of both investors and end-users looking to invest/stay in this part of Thane.