Changing the Face of Mumbai

Mumbai is often compared to New York for its similarity to its cosmopolitan culture and welcoming attitude towards people of all walks of life, community and faith.  Today, Mumbai is also starting to come on a level equal to other countries in terms of infrastructure, as well as the residential and commercial complexes. The credit goes to the government, as well as the builders and developers in Mumbai. Let us learn about some of the prominent ones:

Oberoi Realty: Present for over three decades, they have developed over 39 projects at strategic locations, with a staggering aggregate coverage of 9.18 million sq. ft of spaces.  They have another 21.55 million sq. ft in the making.

Kalpataru Group: Established in 1969 by Mr. Mofatraj. P. Munot, the company is focused on the development of premium residential, commercial, retail, integrated townships, lifestyle gated communities and redevelopment projects primarily in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) & Pune. The company is also undertaking projects in other key cities such as Jaipur, Surat, Hyderabad and Chennai. They have developed more than 80 projects till date.

JP Infra: The company was established in 2006, and is quickly building its footprint all over Mumbai, and are now diversifying into other cities in India. Their largest project is in Mira Road, with a massive 3 million sq. feet, and they are now developing 8.5 million sq. feet with another 15 million sq. feet in the pipeline.

IndiaBullsReal Estate: Part of the larger Indiabulls Group, their real estate wing was formed in 2005 with a  focus on construction and development of residential, commercial and SEZ projects across major Indian metros. They have developed over 3 million sq.ft of property in Mumbai itself, apart from projects in Madurai, Ahmedabad and Thane. They have 14 on-going projects with total saleable area of 35.5 million sq. ft. under its wing.  

Lodha Group: They are one of the biggest players in the real estate industry and begun their journey in 1980. They are currently developing an estimated 43 million sq. ft., and have 28 ongoing projects across London, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad, as well as making forays into Bangalore. They have to their credit World One, the world’s tallest residential tower and Palava City, the country’s first Greenfield smart city.

Thus, it is clear that the city has a bright future in the hands of the builders and developers in Mumbai. 

Smart houses are on trend, but did you know they can also save you money?

When looking for ways to save money, you might not think to look into smart housing technology. In the past, the term “smart home” conjured up images of expensive home improvements and high-tech gadgets. However, these systems are becoming increasingly affordable and are likely to save you money in the long-run.

Smart housing technology can be used to provide accurate, real-time information about utility usage, enabling consumers to keep on track of their payments on a daily basis and adjust their consumption accordingly. One budget-hotel chain, Chototel, is using this technology to enable guests to pay only for the utilities they consume during their stay, as opposed to charging everyone a standard rate. Each room at Chototel is fitted with microbots, which transmits data about utility usage real-time to an app. 

Using this smart housing solution, guests can monitor their utility usage real-time and make payments on a consumption basis via their smart phones. How does this technology affect the price of a night’s stay? At Chototel, daily rates start at just $2, with guests paying their utilities on a pay-per-use basis. So, if you are efficient with your energy, hotel accommodation has just became a lot more affordable.  

A Community Building Initiative and Announcement By JP Infra.

Ala re Ala… Ganpati Ala!

#MyHomeMyGanesha

Mumbai, 7th September, 2016:

Every year, the festive fervour reaches its peak during Ganesh Chaturthi in the city of dreams - Mumbai. The spirit of Mumbai kicks in and Mumbai draws worshippers from all
over the country. With thousands of pandals dotted across the city, the city sees an overwhelming number of devotees shuttling from one pandal to another.


Some of these pandals have gained the iconic stature over the years and experience the most sincerest of prayers from the devotees requesting the Bappa. One key prayer a lot of the devotees have for Ganeshji is to help them in owning their own home so that they can host the beloved ‘Bappa’ in full fervour. People crave and keep aspiring for a home and spend their lives striving towards it.


Mr. Vijay Jain, CMD at JP Infra made a huge announcement for their landmark project – JP North at Mira Road, “Ganeshji is also known as the lord of new beginnings. With JP North, we as a company are entering a different phase altogether. Witnessing the city’s spirit and our customers overwhelming love and belief towards the Bappa, we hereby announce that we would build a Ganesh Temple at JP North and the planning towards the same has already been initiated. We believe in building communities ground up and the Ganesh Temple is another attempt towards our aim of creating spaces for people to truly live.”


Along with the announcement, JP Infra kick started an unique communal initiative - #MyHomeMyGanesha towards bridging that gap between prayers and actual feeling of owning a home. The group wishes to stand by its prospective buyers and customers in making their dream home come true via multiple supportive mediums. The group has multiple projects across the city and the ongoing ones have hosted Ganeshji for its customers and well-wishers to worship and thank the lord together. Unity Towers at Worli hosted an 1.5 day Sthapana while JP Decks at Goregaon celebrated a 3 day Fiesta. North at Mira Road, the group’s landmark project is hosting a 10 day sthapana at their site and has been experiencing tremendous love and support from the community.


Together with radio companies and together are offering its customers an unique experience of taking their Aarti’s live via Radio and Digital mediums. Also the group collaborated with RED FM’s Red Ka Raja to conduct special ‘Visarjans’ and ‘Nukad Nataks' for its customers in all pomp and zeal. With radio jingles running through radio inviting Mumbaikars to share their wishes and how Ganeshji has helped them come true, the initiative has gained an overwhelming response.

The initiative supported via print and outdoor has caught wind on the digital mediums as an increasing number of people are sharing their Ganesha stories via social medias. The group broadcasted their Aartis from the site live via Facebook. The group also invited people to share their selfies with the beloved bappa using #BappaSelfie. The initiative gained serious momentum with the hashtags #MyHomeMyGanesha and #SelfieWithBappa.


Mr. Shubham Jain, Director at JP Infra added, “The devotion and love our city has towards the lord is way beyond explanation. A lot of people in this city strive throughout their lives working towards that heartfelt dream of owning a home. And as developers, we have an innate drive towards making this dream come true. At Jp Infra, we wish to help our customers and prospective community members welcome Ganeshji with homes for every family. In conjunction to the same, we are proud and happy to announce the inclusion of a Ganesh Temple in our landmark project North and is another attempt to fortify the belief of communal living in this fast paced city.”


The initiative also looks at supporting the environment through eco friendly measures and the group has build artificial ponds at their sites - JP North at Mira Road, JP Decks at Goregaon and Unity Towers at Worli for Bappa’s immersion. On the empowering front, the proceeds from the donation boxes have been allocated to the betterment of children at BMC schools. The company also organised a drive for its labourers at site with the employees donating clothes, books and footwear.


On speaking to Mr. Manoj Asrani - VP Sales & Marketing at JP Infra, he stated “Almost everyone dreams of inviting Ganesha to their own homes, including me. And we as developers intend to make that dream come true. With life friendly architecture that lives in harmony with nature, quality building materials that stand the test of time and amenities that makes everyday worthwhile. With this initiative, we wish to bridge the gap between prayers and reality. Because we believe that Ganesha is always with us and we want every day to be auspicious for our customers.”


When a lot of brands are leveraging the festival to drive their sales and numbers, such an initiative from a real estate player has truly created a strong inspiring connect with the fraternity and Mumbaikars at large.


The initiative was covered on Social Media Platforms by AGENCY09

India ‘super-budget’ hotel in $5m London fund-raiser

An India-born entrepreneur was on Monday tapping London’s ethical investment market for $5 million (£3.8 million) to fund a new “super-budget” hotel concept which she plans to bring to the UK.

Rhea Silva is listing her company Chototel — named after “chotu”, the Hindi for small - on the Social Stock Exchange to raise funds for a hotel already under construction near Mumbai and a second forthcoming project in Pune.

The Mumbai hotel is planning to charge as little as $2 a day, split between up to four residents in each of the compact 250 rooms featuring mini bathrooms and kitchenettes.

Chototel is chaired by Chris Phillips, the chairman of Places for People, one of the UK’s largest property managers and developers. 

Silva, who hopes to take the concept to the Middle East and the UK if it proves successful, said: “Housing poverty exists here, it’s just camouflaged in different ways. You might not find as many homeless people on the road, but there are still young professionals spending 50% of their income on housing. The whole real-estate sector needs innovation.”

Chototel becomes the 40th company to list on the Social Stock Exchange, which was set up in 2013 and focuses on firms that deliver social and  environmental impact as well as financial returns for investors.

JP Infra brings neighbours closer, through a social initiative #KnowYourNeighbour First time a developer, rather than selling flats, sells neighbourhood

JP Infra, a Mumbai based real estate major's social initiative #KnowYourNeighbour saw an overwhelming response from people at large. The initiative aimed at the much ignored issue of solitude living of the urban class. For the first time, a real estate developer has attempted to bring all its customers together to celebrate the essence of friendship and communal living. 

As a part of the initiative, Friendship day token with a thoughtfully crafted letter was sent to customers from their neighbouring members. The group arranged the initiative such that the soon to be neighbours got an opportunity to know their neighbours and in return elevate their bond to friendship.

The initiative went beyond just the customer base to bring the society at large together. With radio campaigns being run across the stations asking Mumbaikars to share their neighbourhood friendship stories, the initiative saw an overwhelming response. The radio channels were buzzing with interesting stories of long lost and new found friendship. The initiate is constantly gaining momentum and turning into a social cause.

When asked Mr. Manoj Asrani, VP Sales & Marketing, about the objective of the drive, he stated, “In this fast paced city of Mumbai, with the times changing, we hardly have the time to know who is living next door to us. The time has become such that people do not know who their neighbours are. As human beings, we are social and communal in nature. We wanted our customers to feel the essence of communal living and as an effort towards the same, we thought of a way to connect the soon to be neighbours. From sharing a common address to sharing a special bond of friendship."

Mr. Shubham Jain - Director JP Infra, added "Home is where you treat your friends like family and family like friends. And we are in the business of making people'e homes. We believe spaces should be developed where you can truly live and explore the essence of life. In sync with our belief and values, we thought of connecting the soon to be neighbours and extending a bond of friendship between them. Know your neighbour is that initiative where we gave our customers an opportunity to know and communicate with their soon to be neighbour and extend this special bond of friendship and camaraderie."

Customers were found in a joyous setting and Mr. Mahadik, a proud resident at JP Infra's Unity Towers said, "It was amazing to receive a letter from my soon to be neighbour extending his hand of friendship and wishing the best for me and my family. Our developer, JP Infra went out of the way to get all us neighbours unite and elevate our bond into friendship. This means a lot to us. Mumbai, Its time you know your neighbour."