Bommanahalli, Hebbagodi, Singasandra, Chandapura and Attibele were all once out-and-out villages on Hosur Road, but today they are no more classified as villages. Connectivity, real estate projects and high-end IT offices have brought in growth, movement and progress to these areas.
Among the prominent realty sections of Bangalore, this massive stretch of Hosur Road, which begins right from Vellara Junction, through Koramangala and Silk Board going all the way up to Attibele is certainly up for lots of development. City and Neighbourhood spoke to Mahesh Khaitan , Head, Sattva Real Estate Solutions, the real estate research wing of Sattva Group, to evaluate the stretch better.
These are rather traditional areas that have suddenly woken up. Has the IT belt helped the development in this area?
If one were to look at the central business district areas in Bangalore, you will agree that they are saturated and that the expansion of the city is now moving to the outskirts, especially to those areas that were once perceived as villages.
Hosur Road that stretches all the way to Bommanahalli and Attibele, still has ample tracts of land that is now being converted into residential property. Landmarks such as the old MICO factory and Bhandary Steel have been converted into residential properties. This has completely changed the landscape of the area and the mindset of the people living here. Attibele, thanks to its proximity to Electronics City is witnessing the development of budget apartments to house the constant influx of IT professionals who would rather live close to work.
The same goes for Chandapura, which is just 6 km from Electronics City and is developing into what Jayanagar is to M.G. Road office-goers.
What are the infrastructural developments that have helped these areas?
The biggest boost to the area has been the BETL elevated expressway which has drastically cut down travel time.
For example, to commute from Koramangala to Electronics City isn't a bother because of this expressway.
The only bottlenecks are Silk Board and Madivala.
With the corporation looking into it and with hopes of that being taken care of, travel time will not be an issue anymore. Besides, a number of big names in the IT industry are planning to start operations on the stretch. Companies such as Infosys and Biocon have, of course, already been there for a while. All this will give a huge impetus to budget homes.
What is the profile of the kind of projects coming up here?
Infosys was the biggest IT company that set base and started the spurt of budget housing in these areas, as recent as five years ago. Even today, builders selling homes in the Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 lakh category will rethink the proposition. The kind of apartments that are in demand are those that are high on necessary fittings without too many frills. Well-planned homes, proximity to basic necessities and green space for children are some of the aspects being looked into. Budget for such homes are still only Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 lakh. With the possibility of bigger companies coming to Electronics City, the area is already seeing an appreciation in prices of up to 25 per cent.
Large tracts of land are now coming up for sale in Electronics City and these are being bought out from village people in the area. There are certain bureaucratic issues related to this that need to be ironed out.
The one hitch with the development of this area is that there is no parallel road to Electronics City and Hosur Road, leaving very little scope for development in any of the areas beyond the main roads of Hosur.
