Think of central Bangalore and a few areas come to mind immediately — MG Road, Commercial Street, and even Richmond Road, which is part of Richmond Town. Of course a large part of Richmond Town is already saturated with residential, commercial and retail development. There is, however, scope for development in small patches where people give up old property to make way for new.
Richmond Town comprises Lavelle Road, Museum Road and Shanthinagar, all of which lie parallel to each other. Richmond Town is around 4 km away from the Bangalore Cantonment Railway Station and approximately 33 km from the International Airport and 3 km from the Shivajinagar central bus terminal. It is well connected on the bus route and is home to the Shanthinagar Hockey Stadium which is a landmark in itself.
The area is connected to south Bangalore via KH (Double) Road and moves towards east Bangalore and the international airport via the GPO and the Palace Road. With the Metro being functional a short distance away, Richmond Town is not too far away from Indiranagar, Cambridge Layout and other such areas.
Richmond Town has the best of facilities going around, especially since it is one of the earliest areas that began to develop. The main road of Richmond Town, right up to the Richmond Flyover, is lined with standalone retail outlets. There are several schools in the vicinity that have a long history inluding Baldwin’s Boys and Girls schools, Cathedral High School, Sacred Heart Girls School and Bishop Cotton, among others. Medical facilities are available at Sita Bhateja Hospital and St. Philomena’s Hospital.
Richmond Town is also home to the famous Hockey Stadium, Divyashree Chambers and several places of worship. High-end and budget restaurants can be seen in the area as well as banks and other organisations of everyday need.
Richmond Town also has several apartment complexes and individual homes, most of which are old, yet spread over a vast expanse. The area is rather heavily populated on the inner roads with many of the homes being self-owned. The current potential for development happens only when old property is relinquished and new buildings are brought up.
Amenities
Since this was one of the earliest localities developed in Bangalore city, most of the homes here are well supplied with BWSSB water and sewage connections. Collection of garbage, however, is a problem that is plaguing this area as much as it is in the rest of the city. The area has even maintained a green spot in the form a park close to Shanthinagar.
Traffic generally moves in the area with peak hours seeing a few bottlenecks, especially around the school areas. The bifurcation of the flyover has proven to be a mixed bag in terms of easing traffic.
Considering that Richmond Town is part of the CBD, prices for both purchase and rental can be on the higher side.
* Commercial/retail rental prices: Rs. 60-100 per sq. ft
* Commercial/retail purchase prices: Rs. 10,000-15,000 per sq. ft
* Residential purchase prices: Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 15,000 per sq. ft.
* Residential rental prices: 2BHK/3BHK – Rs. 15,000-25,000 per month and Rs. 30,000-60,000 per month respectively.
