The Central Square, which has turned into a landmark of the city and is witnessing lakhs of people, everyday will soon house a 27-storey building.
As a first step, a massive parking space for the structure with eight levels is ready, according to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). The parking lot is a huge facility with accommodations for up to 1,900 vehicles — 1,500 two-wheelers and 400 four-wheelers, officials said.
The design for the building, after consultations with other stakeholders, was also ready. The design went through numerous changes in recent years. Originally, CMRL had envisioned a 33-storey building, which was then trimmed down to 31 floors. Subsequently, a two-tower planned was mooted — one structure with 17 floors and another with seven. The current plan settles on one 27-floor tower.
“We thought of alternate plans and came up with this proposal because we thought the traffic congestion in the area could worsen with two towers. Initially, we wanted a lot of commercial development, but owing to possible traffic issues, we plan to provide the space in the building for government offices,” an official said.
The Central Square envisaged at a cost of ₹400 crore is essentially a multi-modal hub giving commuters the ease to switch between various modes of transport like Metro Rail, suburban and long-distance trains, and buses. The square was inaugurated in March 2022 with facilities such as landscaping, pedestrian plaza, subways with escalators and renovated bus bays.
