Embassy to invest Rs 2,000-crore on ongoing housing projects

Realty firm Embassy Group will invest about Rs 2,000 crore to complete its ongoing housing projects and is looking to buy land or form joint ventures for expanding its presence in Bengaluru as well as other major cities, a senior company official said. Bengaluru-based Embassy Group's President (Residential Business) Reeza Sebastian said the company is also considering entering the senior living housing segment and adopting pre-fab construction technology. Embassy Group, which is India's leading developer of commercial real estate, has completed 12 million sq ft of housing projects and is currently developing around 10,000 units across six projects, of which five are in Bengaluru and one in Chennai. Sebastian said five projects would be completed by 2019-20 while the nearly 300 acre township 'Embassy Springs' in Bengaluru would take another five years for development. Asked about the investment, she said the total cost for the ongoing projects is more than Rs 5,000 crore, of which about 60 per cent has already been deployed. Sebastian said the company would continue to focus on its core strength of developing ultra-luxury housing but at the same time look at opportunities in other categories of the residential market. "Expansion plans into other micro markets and cities are under evaluation to make the Embassy brand accessible to many more consumers across the country," she said. The company plans to buy land or form partnership with land owners for mid-income housing projects in areas like Whitefield in Bengaluru. Sebastian said the company offers quality products for all segments including uber-luxury, branded private residences, luxury and mid-income homes. "Going forward, we will continue to look for strategic opportunities across all housing segments," she added. To reduce the construction cost, Sebastian said the company is in talks with players having expertise in pre-fab technology. This will enable the company to offer flats in a price range of up to Rs 80 lakh. On the luxury housing market, Sebastian said the demand is bit slow than other segments but there is good traction for ready-to-move in luxury units. Out of the 10,000 units the company is developing, around 1,300 are luxury flats, of which 60 per cent are already sold. "Luxury home buyers are looking for a holistic experience and are specific about the legacy of brands, quality of construction, the promise of delivery and re-assurance of continued impeccable levels of services," she said. Embassy Group has developed over 45 million sq ft of prime residential and commercial projects. The company, in joint venture with global investment firm Blackstone, has developed business parks covering about 34 million sq ft of office space. Embassy-Blackstone plans to launch the country's first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).The group is into hospitality, industrial parks and co-working space.