Are the CBDs really losing out as the benchmark of economic activity in the major cities of India? Well, if only Gurgaon business destinations as against Connaught Place or Nehru Place in Delhi-NCR are any indication, or if only BKC and Navi Mumbai as against Nariman Point in Mumbai is any indication, then the CBDs have lost a significant ground by all means of reputation and economic scale.
As Central Business Districts (CBD) begin to gradually lose their sheen against alternative locations because of their inability to offer Grade A buildings at competitive rates, retrofitting emerges as a preferred option (as compared with redevelopment) for quality improvement to increase the attractiveness and economic life of existing old buildings.
The CP story is very old, one that spans about 50 years or more. It was NCR’s central business district (CBD). It is still probably the CBD. But office space in CP is stagnated. The new business districts such as Cybercity, GCR, Aerocity and GCE are growing at a rapid pace, meeting an enormous demand for commercial office space. Now, it’s a tale of two cities- Delhi and Gurgaon.
If the CBD of a given city is losing its sheen, there can be only two diametrically opposite reasons – one, the economy of the city is collapsing and the other is that the city has created many new centers of economic activity.
n recent times, the cities that have attracted sizeable investments due to hectic economic activities in and around the CBDs and SBDs have rather managed to take the concept of the business districts to the next level of Peripheral Business Districts (PBDs). Times Property takes a look at the Coimbatore city to understand the dynamics of business districts and the growth prospects ahead.
Delhi-NCR has until now witnessed a similar trend, Bangalore and Hyderabad are fast catching up on this trend as well The study also indicates that tenants are moving from traditional Central Business Districts (CBDs) like Connaught Place in Delhi and Nariman Point in Mumbai to emerging alternate new business districts in Gurgaon and Bandra Kurla Complex, respectively. As a result, with rising vacancies, rentals across CBDs have been witnessing a decline.
Where is the growth corridor of Noida that could lead this market as another case study in attracting that kind of investment? The answer to this is not easy, not because of lack of a growth corridor but due to the problem of plenty. While the Atta Market of sector 18 continues to be its main Central Business District (CBD) even today, the emerging growth corridors are even better positioned to put Noida high on the radar of investors.
Bangalore-based Nitesh Estates plans to grow its commercial & rental assets to more than 5 million sq. ft. of space in the near future. This includes locations in the central business districts and significant micro markets of Bengaluru. Nitesh Estates will develop and acquire A-Grade commercial & rental assets with an investment of around Rs. 1500- crore across multiple projects.
At about US$151 per sq. ft. per annum, Delhi’s Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught Place was ranked as the sixth most expensive prime office market in the world, according to CBRE Research’s semi-annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey.
Track2Realty: At nearly US$160 per sq. ft. per annum, Delhi’s Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught Place was ranked as the sixth most expensive prime office market in the world, according to CBRE’s semi-annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey. Mumbai’s alternative business district of Bandra–Kurla Complex (BKC) remained at the sixteenth, and its CBD of Nariman Point at the thirty-second positions on the Top 50 rankings for global prime office properties.