Our team continues to be intrigued by the challenge to locate affordable housing options in Mumbai. To date we have travelled to Palghar (near Gujarat border) and Vasind (near Igatpuri), so this time around we were off to a new market Badlapur. Badlapur, a far off Mumbai suburb, came to limelight after the success of a movie of the same name which was released in 2015. The action thriller set in the backdrop of this city does little justice to tell you what Badlapur really is. Clean, pristine and not so far from Mumbai this area reminds you of small towns in North India. Godrej Properties has soft launched its project Godrej Vihaa recently, an affordable offering by the group in Mumbai region. We set out specifically to cover Godrej Vihaa project at Badlapur.

Route: Badlapur Pipeline Road

While Badlapur can easily be accessed through Central Railways originating from Mumbai CST or Dadar through Kalyan-Dombivli route we took the roads as we had other site visits on our way. We took the following route Mumbai-Vashi-Koparkhairane-Shil Phata-Palava-Badlapur pipeline road. On our way we crossed Lodha Palava township, Ambernath and Badlapur MIDC. The drive on Badlapur pipeline road was really comfortable and scenic. One of our team members was in awe of the greenery all around this area. One gets to judge the size of Palava city when you cross the under development complex along this road, stretching all the way from Kalyan–Shil Phata road. Godrej Vihaa is located next to Usha Residency complex, probably the largest community in Badlapur as of date. Both these lie on Badlapur-Neral road which leads you to Matheran. This is probably what defines the location, as Badlapur is at foothills of Western Ghats and thus is clean & pristine even today! Much ahead on this road towards Neral, there is a project by Xrbia at Vangani, we didn’t reach that far though.

The Product

Godrej Vihaa is a 13 acre project site located right on the road to Neral. It is a joint development with another group and one of the most affordable offerings by Godrej Properties. It is being actively marketed through Mumbai though construction is yet to start. The Badlapur railway station is about 4 km from this site and Vihaa is located at Kharvai next to Usha Residency. There was a project office at the site and land was being cleared for development works. One thing that stands out in the plans is Badlapur is likely to have a best in class apartment complex in form of Godrej Vihaa with – gymnasium, swimming pool and other amenities. Planned apartments will be Stilt+14 floors and will accommodate 1500 apartments in various towers.

Price

The project is priced upwards of Rs. 3,500 per sq ft and offers just two configurations – 1 BHK and 2 BHK (more like 1.5 BHK) spanning 650 – 790 sq ft of salable area. These are likely to cost anywhere from Rs. 23 lacs-Rs. 30 lacs.

Location: Badlapur

Local employment opportunities exist at Badlapur MIDC and little far at Ambernath MIDC, Taloja MIDC, Kalyan/ Thane amongst others. Badlapur is closer to rest of Mumbai than Vasind or Palghar, the regions we travelled to earlier. Though one thing that is common between all 3 of these affordable markets in Mumbai – they are far enough from the clamour of the city that they offer you peace and calm at much lower rates. As of today whether in Badalpur of Ambernath there aren’t large complexes by organised players, most housing is single tower buildings with few stories and no amenities. The question that remains to be answered is whether these affordable homes will find audience amongst end users or not.

By the end of our journey rain gods were pouring heavily and we decided to take a break at Vithal Kamats, a must visit when on Maharashtra highways, the snacks welcome you to towns outside metros such as Mumbai…

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