Mumbai builder pays a whopping Rs 97,000 per sq ft for a flat in Bandra

Emotion comes at a premium even in the cityrsquos ruthless realty market Gautam Ahuja managing director of Ahuja Constructions and son of Jagdish Ahuja paid Rs 97000 per sq ft to buy an old apartment located in Soona Villa on Perry Cross Road in upmarket Bandra The figure is the highest ever paid for an apartment by anyone in the western suburbs and he has done so to stay close to his family Family first Gautamrsquos father Jagdish Ahuja occupies a flat on the towerrsquos 11th floor PicAbhinav Kocharekar The existing realty rates in posh Bandra barely crosses Rs 5000070000 per sq ft even in a tony neighbourhood like the seafacing Carter Road or Bandstand What Gautam paid is comparable to what one would pay for a dainty downtown pad in say Nariman Point or Cuffe Parade Talking real Gautam left managing director of Ahuja Constructions with father Jagdish Ahuja Gautam bought the apartment which measures 1650 sq ft from film producer Govardhan Tanvani a while back for Rs 16 crore which yields a persquareft cost of Rs 97000 The apartment is located on the seventh floor of Soona Villa To boot the Rs 16 crore price tag comes laced with other overheads Accounting for the 5 stamp duty applicable on purchase of the resale property worth Rs 16 crore Gautam will have to pay another Rs 80 lakh Additional costs of Rs 30000 will go towards registration fee Fatherrsquos son It turns out that the Ahuja construction firm has several housing projects dotting the stretch from Worli to Lokhandwala Gautam could have moved in any brand new apartment at any of the properties But apparently familial ties tied him to the neighbourhood he is staying in ldquoI bought the flat because I didnrsquot want to move out of the building and wanted to stay close to the familyrdquo said Gautam whose father occupies a flat in the towerrsquos 11th floor and who had hitherto been staying on rent on the ninth floor to be close to his family Even so Ahuja Constructions has projects in Bandra itself Dunhill and Rajpipla near Palinaka and Linking Road that the construction honcho could have made use of As such many are asking why anyone specially someone revelling in space with a threedecade old realty empire would pay the soaring price for a suburban apartment ldquoSeems the emotional connect overpowered the financial aspect in the dealrdquo cracked a realtor off the record While this would be the highest paid for an apartment in BandraKhar belt real estate experts say this cannot be taken as a yardstick for properties in the area ldquoAhuja paid the money because he wanted to stay in the particular building This shouldnrsquot be held as a benchmark for every other flat in BandraKhar areardquo said a realtor from Bandra High rise high rates Persquarefeet rates in buildings at premium locations in Bandra Hill Road Rs 5000055000u00a0 Pali Hill Rs 6500070000u00a0 Bandstand Rs 6500070000u00a0 Carter Road Rs 6500070000u00a0 Sweet deal There are other highprofile house buyers Playback singer Shaan has bought two apartments in Fortune Enclave on 14th Road in Khar W measuring 6200 sq ft for Rs 17 crore Rs 70000 The going rate per sq ft in the posh areas of Bandra Rs 16 crore What Ahuja has paid for the 7th floor flat in Soona Villa