GMLR is reshaping Mumbai real estate by boosting accessibility in Mulund, Bhandup and Nahur, cutting commute times and creating premium lifestyle hubs.
Mr. Kamlesh Thakur, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Srishti Group
As Mumbai’s urban footprint is getting dense, the real estate conversation is shifting from ‘connectivity’ to ‘accessibility’. It is more about ‘the - ease - of’ commuting, speed and multi-modal quality of getting ‘to and from’ a particular address, which is now defining the premium value of living. With connectivity improving accessibility, new locations and addresses always emerged to take Mumbai’s real estate to the next level such as Bandra-Kurla Complex. The new such ‘accessible’ destination rising up the real estate charts is the upcoming Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). It is not merely a new connection between East and West, but the infrastructure that is creating a brand-new set of addresses and lifestyle geographies across Mulund, Bhandup and Nahur.
The Rs 14,000 crore GMLR is a landmark 12.2 Km east-west corridor designed to transform cross-city mobility in Mumbai. The project includes nearly 4.7 km of twin tunnels beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, supported by grade-separated roads and flyovers like Nahur-Airoli aiming to cut travel time from 75-90 minutes to 25 minutes. Beyond connectivity, GMLR delivers true accessibility that seamlessly links the western business districts with the eastern suburbs, integrating with upcoming metro corridors, and reducing door-to-door travel times through dedicated tunnels and efficient inter-changes. The corridor is also expected to catalyze new urban nodes and last-mile infrastructure, transforming surrounding micro-markets into premium, lifestyle-driven residential destinations valued by luxury homebuyers for time efficiency, convenience and integrated living.
What does this mean for the belt of Mulund, Bhandup and Nahur?
Historically, major corridors and first-mover infrastructure have transformed suburbs into premium residential belts, for instance, Powai, Bandra - Kurla Complex, the Ghodbunder Road in Thane or Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai. The GMLR is expected to follow a similar suit by bringing fast east - west access that will make Mulund and the adjoining Bhandup - Nahur belt attractive for high-end residential developers and aspirational buyers in the neighbourhood who are looking to upgrade their lifestyle and reduce commute burdens. Real estate analysts and market experts have already forecast a significant uptick in demand and valuations in the GMLR zone once key phases of the GMLR Project are for the public.
GMLR is opening up a new signature address
GMLR is thus becoming the address of future living. Developments emerging close to the GMLR corridor, particularly at the entrance of GMLR from Mulund - side, have gradually started commanding a premium due to its east-west-accessibility that blends proximity to green buffers, direct tunnel connectivity, and faster access to both the western employment nodes and eastern growth belts. For homebuyers in Bhandup, Mulund and Nahur, this represents an extraordinary and time-sensitive opportunity to ride onto newly created hotspots that deliver both lifestyle uplift and investment upside as the corridor matures. Incidentally, the top - end luxury residential inventories are still available in the sub Rs 1.10 crore value range, offering huge life upgrading opportunities for the buyers in the vicinity, which are likely to skyrocket once the project starts nearing completion.
Why ‘accessibility’ drives luxury demand more than raw ‘connectivity’
What elevates a location is not just the presence of a road; but the predictability and quality of everyday travel it enables. As GMLR has planned tunnelled sections and grade-separated corridors, they are expected to significantly reduce cross-city travel delivering faster and more reliable door-to-door commute times. For this advantage, the buyers are willing to pay a premium for. When such infrastructure is planned in alignment with metro extensions and highway inter-changes, the address gains genuine multimodal accessibility rather than dependence on a single route. Over the period, these corridors also catalyse the creation of new urban nodes, with schools, hospitals, retail, dining and leisure converting neighbourhoods into self-sustaining lifestyle ecosystems and high-value residential micro-markets.
Timing and the window of opportunity
With GMLR past key clearances and with major underground engineering packages identified, the development zone is already attracting developers and early buyers. Historically, early movers on similar corridors have benefited most; and those who entered the development lanes later faced higher acquisition costs. Market reporting and project timelines indicate that a prudent buyer who secures a premium apartment near the GMLR corridor today stands to gain both a lifestyle upgrade and potential capital appreciation as the scheme progresses toward its mid-term milestones.
In this context, living on or near the GMLR is no longer just about owning a home; but it is about enjoying ‘ease - of - accessibility’, shorter commute times, better work-life balance, access to future-ready infrastructure, and the privilege of being part of Mumbai’s next growth story.
*The author is Co-Founder & MD, Srishti Group
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