A SELF- SUSTAINABLE micromarket in GURUGRAM

Sohna Road is a well-established and self-sustainable micromarket in Gurugram, with a mix of commercial, residential, and retail development options

Sohna Road has something on offer for everyone — be it an office occupier, medium to large-scale investor, an institutional or independent developer, or an end user, resident.

Connectivity to the national highway and other prominent locations within Gurugram adds to its advantage. Most of the commercial activities take place between Subhash Chowk and Badshahpur chowk — a 5.5-6km stretch.

Colliers International says that some of the prominent developments on this stretch, from residential standpoint, include Central Park 2 (Central Park Resorts), Bestech Parkview 1 and 2, Vipul Greens, Tatvam Villas, and Malibu Towne. These projects offer a mix of 2-, 3-, and 4BHK units, luxury villas, independent floors, plotted developments, etc. Average capital values are in the range of Rs 8,500 per sq ft to Rs 10,000 per sq ft.

“Apart from developed housing, Sohna Road also offers excellent office, commercial real estate and constitutes roughly 12%-14% of the overall ready office stock of Gurugram. Another 1-1.5 million sq ft supply is currently under construction and expected to be added by the end of 2019. Some prominent developments on this stretch are Bestech Business Tower, Vatika Business Park, Spaze I Tech Park, JMD Megapolis, IT park (under construction) by Capital Group. The average rental values on this stretch range between Rs 50 per sq ft and Rs 70 per sq ft, per month,” Vineet Anand, director (office services, NCR) at Colliers International India, said.

From the office space absorption standpoint, given the average vacancy level in the range of 22%-25%, Sohna Road today competes with micromarkets like Golf Course Extension Road, Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), parts of NH-8, Udyog Vihar, and the likes (as these micromarkets also offer good quality Grade-A real estate at similar price points).

Developers in this market are extremely flexible and offer additional sops to office occupiers like operational rent-free periods, investment in CAPEX or fit-outs, longer lease terms, right of first refusals, hard options, etc.

“Large MNC occupiers like Convergys, Boston Scientific, Capgemini, Xerox, Atos, PayU Payments, Aricent, Evalueserve, Infosys, to name a few, have relocated from various parts of the city and established offices on Sohna Road. Thus, while there is a lot of traction amongst office occupiers on this stretch, there are certain areas of opportunities, which if addressed timely, will give a boost to the leasing activity in this market,” Anand says.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES; GROWTH PROSPECTS

Sohna Road has emerged as a lucrative markets for real estate investments in Gurugram. More so, as it offers excellent links with Golf Course Extension Road and NH-8, which enhances its value.

“The region will emerge as the most sought-after place because of its plush ambiance created by the presence of high-end corporate houses, luxury malls, and ultraluxury homes under construction. Developers are working on new themes and rebuilding their strategies by offering the best of amenities in their projects. Smart serviced and studio apartments are the latest trend here. These apartments offer the flexibility to turn residences into an office space with convertible features and vice versa, which makes them a perfect match to the requirements of the millennials, whom we call Gen Y,” Gaurav Mittal, MD of CHD Developers, says.

“Sohna Road has emerged as a hub for commercial development because of its strategic location. The area enjoys excellent connectivity with SPR, Golf Course Road, and NH-8. It offers a mix of retail, residential, and entertainment centres located in close vicinity, and there is a SEZ coming up as well,” Ravish Kapoor, director of Elan Group, said. — MS

Source TOI