Thanks to the cluster redevelopment project, Mumbai's 125-year-old Bhendi Bazaar spread across 16.5 acres is taking a big leap into the future. The development comes after several failed attempts over the last one decade. The largely underdeveloped and busy business-cum-residential Bhendi Bazaar, Mumbai, is now home to two newly-developed towers of 36 and 41 floors. These have opened a new world of modern living for the families there who have moved from their 80 sft dilapidated homes to 350 sft modern apartments. Around 610 of the over 3,200 families and 128 of the over 1,250 businesses have moved in to the new buildings, all for free.
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The two towers which are already completed and where 610 families have moved in have been designed to include a recreational area with gardens and a kids' playground and various other amenities like prayer room, multi-purpose hall, activity rooms, and separate gymnasium rooms for both women and men. The commercial spaces are housed on the ground, first and second floors with street-facing frontages.
The project, touted as the country's largest and one of the most ambitious cluster redevelopment programmes till date, is being fully funded by the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust.
The Rs 4,000 crore project, a flagship smart city project, involves razing 250 mostly dilapidated medium-rise structures and building 13 high-rise towers in their place. These towers will house existing commercial and residential tenants, who will be given ownership of their new apartments. The project aims to add greenery, public spaces and glitzy shopping options to the 125-year-old market-district.
According to Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust, the new neighbourhood will meet the present and future socio-economic needs of diverse communities living and working in the area. The redevelopment comprises 16.5 acres of land with more than 250 decrepit buildings, 3,200 families and 1,250 shops, all of which will be incorporated into a state-of-the-art sustainable development model with wider roads, modern infrastructure, ample open spaces and highly visible commercial areas.