Proximity to Lohegaon airport a virtue

Hotspot: Charoli, Pune

Charoli (or Charholi) is an emerging and promising location near Pune's Lohegaon airport, being developed in response to the increasing demand for affordable, yet strategically located, homes. Like many other previously undiscovered and now well-developed entrants on Pune's real estate map, Charoli was previously an agrarian locality which, by virtue of large tracts of available land, has now been identified as a logical area for development expansion. Charoli has some very significant location attributes.

It is a mere six kilometres from Pune's Lohegaon Airport, 12.9 km from Pune railway station, 16 km from the transit hub of Shivajinagar, 9.7 km away from Kalyani Nagar (a major IT/ITeS and corporate hub) and 12.1 km from Koregaon Park - one of Pune's most aspired-for luxury housing destinations.

Proximity to the airport has always been a major growth catalyst in Pune. The real estate boom that took place and continues to unfold on Nagar Road, close to the airport, is a good example of this effect. This six-lane, 12-km road which begins at Yerawada and connects to the IT hub of Kharadi and further to Ahmednagar, has become one of the city's focal points for residential, commercial and retail real estate development. Today, it has an extremely high saturation of luxury home projects, shopping malls, high-end eateries and hospitals.

Like neighbouring Dhanori - which has already seen significant development, Charoli is the next area close to the Pune airport which is poised for vertical takeoff. Its emergence as a real estate destination coincides favourably with the approval of the 161.73-km Ring Road - a major infrastructure project jointly undertaken by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Pune Municipal Corporations. Charoli lies squarely within the purview of the first phase of the Ring Road, meaning that it will be one of the first areas to benefit from the vastly enhanced connectivity. Another major advantage that Charoli enjoys is that it is already within municipal limits, so civic infrastructure such as water and electricity is a given, rather than a variable.

Currently, residential property prices at Charoli are still very competitive. While the demand for housing at Charoli has so far been catered to primarily by small local developers, Pride Group has now picked this location for a 400-acre township which will be launched soon. The arrival of this massive project will give a major boost to Charoli, further enhancing its potential as one of the most promising real estate locations in Pune. Large townships have proven to be major game-changers, with the likes of Magarpatta and Amanora transforming their locations. Given the rapid development of surrounding areas and its locational advantages, Charoli is emerging as an important residential location and investment destination in Pune.

The writer is Managing Director - Pune, Jones Lang LaSalle IndiaSanjay Bajaj