Trump's second bid to tower over Mumbai

This time around, Trump to co-invest in branded residences with Lodha

Mumbai, which has one of the most expensive real estates in the world, will soon get its own Trump Tower on the lines of the Fifth Avenue skyscraper in New York.

The Mumbai-based developer, Lodha, has tied up with Donald J Trump's Trump Organisation to use the latter's brand name and standard specifications in the project for an undisclosed fee.

Trump's second project in India has been able to evoke enough interest for Lodha to have sold off a third of its of 300 apartments, each priced around Rs 9.5 crore even before the project was launched on Tuesday. The building is going to be a 75-plus-storeyed tower.

Perseverant Trump
Despite a failed attempt with Mumbai-based developer, Rohan Lifescapes, and another smaller project in Pune, Trump is looking to co-invest in Trump Tower and explore other projects with the Lodhas and other developers.

Trump is also looking to take up management contracts for hotel projects. For Trump's team, which selects one project for every 20 projects it evaluates, the India plans appear to be prolific. The US-based real estate tycoon and celebrity, Trump, sees India as a "terrific market", especially after the bold steps taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Our hotel plans are limited to five-star luxury and we have had some conversations but not finalised anything so far," Donald J Trump Jr, the son of the chairman and the executive vice-president of Trump Organisation, says.

He questions the quality of finished products in emerging markets but says that partner, the Lodhas, will do a "world-class luxury project" in the country.

Tailored luxury
The ultra-luxury project, from which Lodha is expecting Rs 5,000 crore in revenue, is offering an array of lifestyle privileges. It includes a 24-hour resident manager, white-glove concierge services, access to global Trump luxury properties and a fractional membership of a private jet service for Trump Tower residents.

The tower, with its crystal-inspired architecture will have three-, four- and six-bedroom residences which are designed by HBA Singapore. These would have German Poggenpohl kitchens, five-fixture bathrooms, indoor hot-water tubs, built-in TVs and seven-level security.

Abhisheck Lodha, managing director of Lodha group, says that Trump Organisation insists on its specifications for building gyms, swimming pools, and even the heights of windows and ceilings. "It has a 50-page service manual which specifies everything associated with the project," Lodha says.

Branded homes galore
Lodha has done branded residences in a limited way when it tied up with iconic fashion designer Giorgio Armani's design studio, Armani Casa, to design its apartments and villas in its ambitious project, World One, in Mumbai's Lower Parel. However, Lodha is not alone working on such residences.

The Canadian hotel chain, Four Seasons, is building a 30-storey, 110-residence project called CityView in Bangalore. Apartments are expected to cost more than Rs 10 crore.

In May this year, the US-based luxury hotel chain, The Ritz Carlton, tied up with Oberoi Realty for service apartments - The Residences, managed by Ritz Carlton, Mumbai. In 2012, another Mumbai developer, Sunteck Realty, launched Disney-themed residences in its Rs 10,000-crore Sunteck City project in Goregaon West of Mumbai,complete with Disney-branded furnishing, home decor products, colour palettes and bath fittings in the kids' rooms.

Property consultants say it is too early to pass a judgement on branded homes given that there have not been that many projects, especially in Mumbai, compared to global markets. "The Mumbai market is evolving and there is a good amount of money. If there is value in them, people will lap them up. We have not seen such projects adding value in Bangalore," says Om Ahuja, chief executive, residential services at Jones Lang LaSalle, a global property consultant.

Adds Pranay Vakil, former chairman of Knight Frank, "From a marketing perspective, it is not a bad idea. You are positioning your product in the highest bracket and there are people who are willing to pay for it," he says.