Pune wakes up to Kharadi

Kharadi, which used to be once dismissed as an undeveloped fringe area of Pune is now the place for IT complexes, corporate buildings, residential areas and malls.

Putting Hinjewadi, Baner and other such areas behind, Kharadi is now responsible for the way the skyline the western corridor of the city looks. It was blue-pinned as a ‘developable area’ by the Pune Municipal Corporation and developers, thanks to acres of barren land which is suited best for construction.

“Water supply, roads and infrastructure have been revamped. We have incorporated a new water supply scheme, which will supply water from the Cantonment area. Then, there is a new Kharadi-Mundhwa road which is coming up. Also, we are doing an experiment, first of its kind which has brought in a joint pooling of resources by the PMC and private sector. It involves the private developers spending Rs 60 crore on infrastructure here and they get a concession in the development charges whenever they have to build anything here,” says Municipal Commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi.

Kharadi is also close to Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar which is where all the action happens in Pune. But, since these are prime localities, real estate prices here touch the sky which is why these places are unaffordable. Agrees Rohit Gera, joint managing director, Gera Developments who is soon going to open shops for sale in Kharadi, “Kharadi has a key geographical location. Its proximity to the airport, Koregaon Park, Kalyani Nagar, Viman Nagar, Ranjangaon, which is an industrial area counts a lot. Plus, it is a slum free zone and is not developing in fragments. The prices are still depressed.” The rates in Kharadi right now range between Rs 2700 to Rs 3500 per square feet.

Eon Free zone, a special economic zone (SEZ), is estimated to employ as many as 40,000 people to work in a single shift not to mention IT parks and residential areas that are being developed. “As before, residential property buyers looking for self-use flats will continue to look for properties that suit their location and budget needs. The genuine end-use buyer market is inflexible in that respect. However, the scenario is different for investors. With Talegaon not picking up in the anticipated manner, Pune's new growth corridor now encompasses Kharadi. This can be safely considered as the most lucrative real estate investment zone for 2009-2010,” thinks Mohammed Aslam, head, Pune, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

This area has some significant market drivers to boost its investment potential no surprise then that Kharadi remains the highest potential in Pune real estate market.