Living sky high

Want to buy a penthouse in a Mumbai high-rise?

Among Mumbai's biggest banes is an inelegant jostle for space. A stylish way to bypass it is by snapping up a penthouse in any of the up and coming high rises. The chaos of urban life looks inconsequential from these houses, which crown tall buildings over 100 metres high. "Nobody can touch you there and you feel like the king of the world," notes Shri Hari, consultant and founder of Real Estate Deal Street. Of course, all this claims an expense of several crore rupees.

Demand for such houses is healthy among high net worth individuals. "The penthouse comes with its inherent snob value," says Ashish Raheja, managing director of Raheja Universal. Builders too make no bones about who their potential clients are, calling forward the "ultra-sophisticated" and "the swish set". In some cases, the luxurious houses can be bought "by invitation only" and require buyers to state their assets before they are allowed a peek at the property.

Architect Rajiv Saini has designed eight such houses for private owners across the city. The architect's clients mostly include business families that willingly part with a premium for exclusivity. "Penthouses provide the kind of space one may not have in an apartment. They combine special features like terrace gardens and sun decks with the generally great view from the top floor." Ashutosh Limaye, head of research and real estate intelligence at Jones Lang LaSalle agrees, "It is like having a bungalow at a higher level." Despite being located in prime areas of the city, the altitude cuts off noise and pollution, giving penthouse owners the best of both worlds.

A number of big players such as Lodha Group, Orbit Corporation and Marathon Group offer penthouses across the city. The houses come in various types and sizes, ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 square foot. "They are usually built as duplexes and triplexes, which provide a sense of high ceiling," notes Amit Thacker, head of SD Corp, which constructed the Imperial twin residential towers in Tardeo. These apartments command a premium of 20 to 25 per cent over other residences in the complex, says Limaye. Depending on the location, layout and other specifications, prices come in a range of Rs 10 crore to upwards of Rs 50 crore. Coastal regulation zones limit the land available for development, further hiking prices of sky villas.

Penthouses are frequently sold as core-and-shell units (raw structures) so that owners can customise them according to their taste. In most cases, the design is not grand or ostentatious but modern and minimalistic. Italian marble flooring is preferred in the living room and bedrooms usually have wooden floors. Often with a 360 degree panoramic view and large windows, they give a sharp sense of room. Ashiesh Shah, architect and creative director at Ashiesh Shah architect+design, says height is the most important factor and it "becomes the brief for the design." As it follows, stairwells and chandeliers are critical elements for designers to play with.

Saini focuses on "creating a dialogue between the indoor and outdoor spaces" in his penthouse designs. Furniture within the house and on the terrace has to look distinct yet not stick out oddly. The seamless flow is significant, Saini maintains, because "all the entertaining naturally spills into the outside spaces at night." Indeed, these houses are great for hosting parties, where guests can enjoy barbecue, cocktails and breathtaking visions such as the Arabian Sea.

The affluent suburbs Bandra and Juhu as well as genteel South Mumbai are among the hotspots for penthouses. While television and film personalities predominantly own penthouses in Bandra, businessmen and industrialists mostly go in for sky villas in South and Central Mumbai. Such establishments are also available on the Palm Beach road, a preferred destination for luxury housing in Navi Mumbai. Among the celebrities with penthouse addresses are Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Leone and Sanjay Gupta. Worli and parts of central Mumbai too came into focus in recent years as skyscrapers began to replace the district's erstwhile mills. With the emergence of nuclear families, young generations of old money families from pricey South Mumbai are said to have moved to these somewhat more affordable parts.

The terraces, which sometimes run throughout the periphery of the house, overlook stunning views. In Mahalaxmi, for instance, penthouse owners can watch horses galloping gracefully on the race course. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the Queen's Necklace are the other well-known remarkable scenes.

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Residential projects with penthouses or sky villas include the usual spoils of luxury housing - health clubs, meditation centres, large swimming pools, tennis courts and football grounds. Lately, demand is growing for indoor gaming areas for sports like squash, note real estate dealers. Some complexes have their own cafeterias. Inside the penthouse, plunge pools, Jacuzzis, gymnasiums are common amenities.

As with any piece of property, there are some challenges. "Buyers have concerns for kids and senior members in the family, considering that (a penthouse) is usually a two-level apartment," says Raheja. So, the developer offers a modern hydraulic lift in its Atlantis project in Lower Parel. At kissing distance from the sky, the houses are also more exposed to the rain and sun. Maintenance can be tricky. Several screens are needed for protection against the heat and dehumidifiers are installed in store rooms and closed spaces to ward off mildew. Owners have to routinely employ the services of specialised window cleaners.

A penthouse's strongest selling point is the view. The city's economic disparity means an inevitable juxtaposition with poverty. Even in the most prominent locales, nearby slums and drains are squarely in sight of the penthouses, creating an incredible live chart of the class system for the onlooker.