Published & Updated as on - 2010-02-26

In a city where open plots have all but disappeared, the last of the vast chunks of land are worth their weight in gold. In yet another big-ticket deal—considered to be the largest in over two years — Mumbai-based company Sheth Developers is learnt to have bought the GTC (Golden Tobacco Company) property in Vile Parle for Rs 591 crore. The deal overshadows last month’s agreement by the Wadhwa Group with Hindustan Composites Ltd (HCL) to buy an 18.18-acre Ghatkopar for Rs 571 crore.

According to people familiar with the deal, the Vile Parle land—spread over 57,000 square metres or approximately 14 acres—is located in a prime area next to Mithibai College and touching S V Road. On paper, the transaction is shown as a joint development between the builder and the Sanjay Dalmia-led GTC. Those in the know say that Sheth Developers will construct on 10% of the land and hand it over to GTC free of cost as part of the deal. The location is ideal for a high-end residential enclave on the lines of the builder’s Beau Monde towers at Prabhadevi. The property has been in the market for several years; one of the other contenders for it was reportedly D B Realty.

The transaction once again proves that in land-starved Mumbai, builders are willing to shell out any amount to corner the last remaining sprawling properties, mainly belonging to industries which have shut down for various reasons. “There are now barely any open plots left in the city with a clear title and no encroachment,’’ said a real estate insider. The GTC land deal is the biggest one after the slump in the property market 18 months ago. The last big transaction was in November 2007 when the Wadhwa Group paid an astronomical Rs 831 crore for a less-than-two-acre plot in BKC. It was a national record for commercial land.

Source:Indian Realty News 26/2/10