In the silk stocking enclaves of south Mumbai, such as Malabar Hill, Walkeshwar, Nepean Sea Road, and Altamount Road, redevelopment fever has now swept through some of the top housing societies. These are upscale areas where new apartments can cost more than Rs 1 lakh per square foot. Many of the city's A-list developers are also chasing after these societies, rushing to submit their bids for lucrative redevelopment projects. Numerous upscale societies in Bandra's affluent Pali Hill, Carter Road, and Mount Mary neighbourhoods, where property values are among the highest in the suburbs, are up for redevelopment, and several of them have already signed agreements with premier builders. Palmera Cooperative Housing Society (Pleasant Palace) is located on a prime 1.5 acre sea facing plot in Malabar Hill on Narayan Dhabolkar Road. The 47-member society, which purchased the land in 1971, recently granted K Raheja Corp. of builder C L Raheja the rights to redevelop the property. The estimated cost of the redevelopment project, which will have a built-up area of about 1 lakh square feet in the free scale component, is Rs 20 billion. When the Meher Apartments Co-op society called for bids for redevelopment, many Grade A developers responded. On January 3, 2023, the bids will be publicly disclosed. The residents, who live in apartments ranging in size from 1,300 to 2,300 square feet, anticipate 50% more space in the new construction, a flat owner said. The society has 76 apartments in two buildings. “The society proposes to redevelop its residential buildings by using full FSI potential on net plot area and permissible fungible compensatory area,,” its bid document says. South Mumbai housing societies are partnering with renowned builders to renovate their structures. One of them is Giriraj, a housing society off Altamount Road that is close to the Meher Apartments. It is known that JSW has acquired the redevelopment rights for the New Deluxe Apartments in the same neighbourhood. In order to redevelop its over one-acre plot, which has two wings with ground plus 14 floors and 115 members, Raja Shreepal Society in Nepean Sea Road recently invited bids for the appointment of project management consultants and architects. According to Breach Candy, Saidale Co-op society (previously Pratibha co-op Housing society) and KBK Developers (Rajendra Kothari) are thought to have reached an agreement for the construction of a new tower on the nearly two-acre plot in Sophia College Lane. The 36-story tower, which was destroyed three years ago, became well-known for FSI violations in the 1980s. K Raheja Corp. has been granted permission to redevelop the 43-member Balmoral Apartments Society at Mount Mary Road in Bandra (west). The Rahejas also obtained the redevelopment rights to the Queens and Grand Canyon housing societies on Pali Hill. The Lodha Group's MD, Abhishek Lodha, claimed that the relaxation of coastal regulation zone regulations and the construction incentives provided by the new development control rules have made it possible to redevelop many coastal societies. “Societies prefer A Grade Developers because of the experience with many small developers who were unable to complete the projects, “ he said. Pankaj Kapoor, MD, Liases Foras, property research firm, said: “Several societies at Ultra-premium locations such as Altamount Road, Carmichael Road, Walkeshwar and Worli are going for redevelopment, which suggests the supply of ultra-luxury units will increase in the future in these micro markets.” According to him, the most supply is available at a unit cost of Rs 250 million, and the per-square-foot prices in these locations are over Rs 85,000 per sq ft carpet. In the previous 12 months, there were 134 transactions, according to registration data, where the unit cost exceeded Rs 250 million. 58 of these units came from brand-new sales (primary market), and the remaining 73 were from resales. “Prospects of new supply in an uncertain macroeconomic environment suggest further stress in the ultra-luxury segment. As per the estimates, there are around 75,000 households in Mumbai costing over Rs 250 million,” he said. See also: Amid redevelopment, rents on the rise in western MumbaiRedevelopment leads to rise in rents in Bandra-Khar-Santacruz area