As we all come to a standstill in the never moving traffic towards Hinjewadi, we can’t miss the plethora of hoardings, each, trying its best to catch the attention of the prospective buyer on his way to work. For those who have travelled to work in Hinjewadi recently, I’m sure you could not have missed the hoardings of ‘Air Castles’. You cannot miss it just by the sheer quantum of advertising if not the images of a suave lady in a serene backdrop with the caption saying “A place to live with natural air conditioning.” Now, that is a perfect caption to catch your attention in the sweltering heat this summer.The hoardings guided me to Hinjewadi Chowk from Aundh and off to the road on the right near Mezza9. 3 Kms further on this road, the project comes to your left just after Allard Institutes. Air Castles is a project by Kohinoor Group and Rama Group both with decent history and decent number of projects to their credit.
The Location The 3 Km drive from Hinjewadi to Air Castles (www.aircastles.in) gave me the feeling of driving on a highway passing through a village with very few commercialization around. The road is pretty decent, but right now there is nothing around to give you a good feel. Once you reach the site, you realize that you have reached somewhere behind Infotech Park Phase 2. If I’m not wrong, the buildings that I saw from there were the buildings of the Wipro Phase 2 campus. I guess it is too early to judge how the place and the development around it will shape up. But right now, there is nothing, no decent shops, no super markets, no hospitals / clinics, no schools, nothing. May be these will come up in the next couple of years, but at this point as a buyer, I would be cautious.
The project speaks about all the standard amenities like a club house with gym and other indoor recreation, garden, jogging track, swimming pool etc. that we have come to see and expect in the projects coming up off late. Apart from this, they are promising a tennis court, a volley ball court, a mini basket ball court and a skating rink, which I think are good additions.
One of the main selling points the project has focused on is the amount of free space. The project is spread ove
r 12 acres and is to house 16 residential and 1 commercial building. They also claim of at least a 100 feet distance between 2 buildings. 100 feet though sounds a lot, is just a third more than a standard cricket pitch. When it comes as a distance between two 8 storeyed structures, it is not much, but is adequate and better than many projects where buildings are crammed in together. Another good point I found was the layout with the building structures in different directions and space in between which should help in the airflow as they claim.
Construction is yet to begin and the builders are stating a possession of December 2011, about 18 months from now which I think is a very aggressive estimate. Bookings have been opened only for 8 out of the 16 towers.
The FlatsOne of the main selling points the project has focused on is the amount of free space. The project is spread ove
r 12 acres and is to house 16 residential and 1 commercial building. They also claim of at least a 100 feet distance between 2 buildings. 100 feet though sounds a lot, is just a third more than a standard cricket pitch. When it comes as a distance between two 8 storeyed structures, it is not much, but is adequate and better than many projects where buildings are crammed in together. Another good point I found was the layout with the building structures in different directions and space in between which should help in the airflow as they claim. Construction is yet to begin and the builders are stating a possession of December 2011, about 18 months from now which I think is a very aggressive estimate. Bookings have been opened only for 8 out of the 16 towers.
They are offering 2 BHK flats of built up areas of 837 sq. ft. and 939 sq. ft. and 3BHK flats of built up areas 11
26 sq. ft., 1255 sq. ft. and 1366 sq. ft. The area is right for compact homes, and the plans are pretty good with minimal wastage of space. The large windows in all rooms combined with the layout of the buildings should help the flow of air to some extent. I’m saying ‘some extent’ because, the layout of the flats are such that all the windows of a flat are facing one direction and thus cross ventilation would not be great. The specifications are pretty much standard and the quality of materials used in the sample flat (or promised) are of good standard.
The Cost
26 sq. ft., 1255 sq. ft. and 1366 sq. ft. The area is right for compact homes, and the plans are pretty good with minimal wastage of space. The large windows in all rooms combined with the layout of the buildings should help the flow of air to some extent. I’m saying ‘some extent’ because, the layout of the flats are such that all the windows of a flat are facing one direction and thus cross ventilation would not be great. The specifications are pretty much standard and the quality of materials used in the sample flat (or promised) are of good standard.The quoted rate is Rs. 2556 psf which takes the cost of the flat to between 23.9 to 26.6 lacs for the 2BHK and 31.6 to 37.9 lacs for the 3BHK inclusive of stamp duty and registration. Parking costs Rs. 1.75 lacs for covered and 1.25 for open.
My TakeHinjewadi as a place for a home certainly appeals to me as it would appeal to anybody who spends as much time in the traffic travelling to work there. But, a home is not just about the house, it is also about the things around it like convenience stores, medical stores, clinics, hospitals, schools, restaurants, entertainment, public transport etc. These things are lacking here now and I think it will take 4 to 5 years for the place to completely develop into an area that can house “homes”. Large projects like the “Blue Ridge’ or ‘Megapolis’ take care of some of the missing amenities here and I believe are better options in Hinjewadi.
I think the price is about Rs. 200-300 on the higher side especially when you see that the work on the site is yet to begin. I think it is a decent option if this fits into your budget and you are ready to go through some pain in the first few years. But, I would suggest waiting a bit, see the work start and take your call.
I think the price is about Rs. 200-300 on the higher side especially when you see that the work on the site is yet to begin. I think it is a decent option if this fits into your budget and you are ready to go through some pain in the first few years. But, I would suggest waiting a bit, see the work start and take your call.
