With cluster reinvention dreams, builders snap up Mumbai’s Linking Road societies; offer flat owners Rs 85K to Rs 1L a sq ft

MUMBAI: Hyped as London's Oxford Street and Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, Mumbai's high retail street of Linking Road has builders rushing to buy out entire housing societies, offering eye-watering deals that have stunned the property market.

"Take the money and move out," is the credo. And most families are happily grabbing these offers.

Take the case of Brindaban Society, Linking Road, Santacruz West. Developer Mohit Kamboj of Aspect Realty, who was formerly associated with the BJP and believed to be a close aide of CM Devendra Fadnavis, has paid roughly Rs 170 crore to buy out all the 14 apartments in Brindaban.


"It's not a redevelopment. We paid each member Rs 12 crore for their 1,500-sq-ft apartments,'' he told TOI, adding it worked out to Rs 85,000 a sq ft against the current market price of Rs 60,000 a sq ft.

"After the payment, we have given them six months to continue staying in their houses free of cost to give them time to buy alternate accommodations," he said.

Kamboj has a joint venture with JSW Realty to redevelop over 3 acres on Linking Road into a mall, commercial space, and residential units.

Àspect Realty describes itself as the "largest land orchestrator in Mumbai". "We aggregate land and properties, and the construction will be carried out under the JSW brand," Kamboj told this correspondent.

Kamboj said his company has so far bought over or negotiated for 156 apartments in 14 housing societies on Linking Road for a total consideration of Rs 1,600 crore. "With large landscaping and amenities, it will be the biggest cluster development project on Linking Road," he said. Families with 1,000-sq-ft apartments received roughly Rs 8.5 crore each.

"It's a 4km stretch of Linking Road starting from Bandra till Santacruz, which has turned into a hot address for all the top brands. It's going to be like London's Oxford Street. Big brands want their presence here," said architect Reza Kabul, who has several projects on this road.

At a local gym recently, a man claimed he refused an astounding offer of Rs 7.5 crore for his tiny 135-sq-ft shop on Linking Road, Bandra. "Business is roaring here. No one wants to sell their shops despite these crazy offers," he said.

Market sources said this trend began about two years ago, especially along the Linking Road stretch between Khar, Santacruz and Vile Parle.

The mad valuations are because of the high floor space index (FSI) for commercial projects, which can go up to 6.75. FSI defines how much can be built on a plot. Although large stretches of Linking Road have a height restriction due to its proximity to the airport, buildings of 17 to 18 storeys can still be constructed here.

Kabul said some developers have offered up to Rs 1 lakh a square foot to residents to buy them out. "If they own a 1,000-sq-ft apartment, the payment is made on 1,500 sq ft or even 2,000 sq ft depending on the location,'' he said.

Another builder who is aggressive on Linking Road is Raipur-based Krishna United Developers, which has taken five societies here with about 60-70 apartments, it is learnt. "Major players like Aspect are buying full blocks of land. And developers from outside Mumbai have joined the fray," said developer Sanjay Devnani.

But Devnani said this demand is limited to the high street areas of Linking Road, which has led to a huge variation in prices for flats in old buildings. "Flats in old buildings on Linking Road are being lapped up at Rs 1 lakh a sq ft, but there are no takers for old flats in the leafy bylanes, which are going begging at Rs 50,000 a sq ft. New flats in redeveloped buildings sell for Rs 65,000 a sq ft. Suddenly, the location where no one wanted to live has become a gold mine," he said.

Recently, a society on the corner of Linking Road and 8th Road in Khar was offered Rs 225 crore to move out. They refused because they wanted redevelopment.

In Dec 2024, actor John Abraham bought a bungalow on Linking Road, Khar, for Rs 75 crore. The property at 372 Nirmal Bhavan is a ground-plus-two-storey structure. Actor Salman Khan also owns a four-floor commercial space on Linking Road, Santacruz, which he bought for Rs 120 crore over a decade ago. Rentals for high street retail shops on Linking Road are more than Rs 800 per sq ft. It is one of the costliest retail markets in India.

Said Anuj Puri, ANAROCK Group: "Mumbai's premium western suburbs are bound to see such reinvention, given the scarcity of land. These are prime residential areas, and the right kinds of commercial plays will do incredibly well there. Commercial real estate is also a far more lucrative play than residential properties, even ultra-luxury properties. Also, the available FSI for commercial projects far exceeds that of residential developments in Mumbai's suburban areas.''

He added, "It is an incredibly aggressive land assembly strategy, and over-the-top buyout packages are necessary as they cannot just reflect the current property values — which, if we take the case of Bandra, exceed Rs 1 lakh per square foot—but must also factor in the transformative commercial potential inherent in these areas."