5 reasons why Byculla is a property hotspot in the making

For the longest part of Mumbai’s history, Byculla was the culturally-rich home of the affluent communities. As decades passed, the city changed, and today Byculla finds itself on the crossroads of complex history and impending future.

Byculla, the next Lower Parel?

Byculla, like neighbouring Parel, Worli, Mahalakshmi, and Chinchpokli, was a huge cluster of mills. As time went by, most of the mills in these localities went defunct and developers acquired most of them to set up premium residential and commercial properties. One area in particular, that has seen development beyond the ordinary is the Lower Parel-Worli belt, where commercial spaces like Marathon Futurex, Peninsula, Kamala mills, etc, and the F&B industry have truly flourished. This in turn was primarily because of the area being a large catchment of office goers during the day, and families at night. Mahalakshmi and Chinchpokli on the other hand, have witnessed a number of plush residential properties come up in the past decade or two. Byculla now seems to be following a trajectory, very similar to that of these surrounding areas.

The famous clocktower at the Byculla zoo

Progression of development

While localities around Byculla have seen immense development in the last decade, it can’t be denied that these areas don’t have too much bandwidth remaining, to support constantly-growing infrastructure and development. Logical progression is going to force that immense wave of development to Byculla, and that is going to be an unparalleled opportunity for developers and property buyers alike.

Transport and connectivity

Byculla has always been very well connected to different parts of the city. It’s strategically located in between South Mumbai, the western suburbs and the harbour line. The arterial roads – Eastern and Western express highways, and the Eastern freeway – are all within a couple of minutes of Byculla. This makes road travel a breeze. What also helps is excellent bus connectivity. Most of the buses travelling to and from South Mumbai have a stop in or close to Byculla. The Byculla railway station has both the central and harbour lines going through it, and that further aids excellent public transport connectivity.

Infrastructure

Byculla is one of the oldest ‘developed’ parts of Mumbai that housed the rich and influential, and that shines through in the surrounding infrastructure. Some of the oldest and renowned schools, colleges and hospitals are located around. Reputed educational institutions like Villa Theresa, Queen Mary, St. Xavier’s, J.J. School and Jai Hind find themselves in close vicinity of Byculla. Well-known hospitals like Saifee, J.J. and Jaslok also are just minutes away. When it comes to social infrastructure, we’ve already seen how the high-street development at Lower Parel, Worli, etc has taken place, and it all happens to be neighbouring Byculla. Infrastructure around can make or break a location, Byculla though ticks the right boxes.

Value proposition

One of the most important reasons why Byculla deserves attention as the next property hub is because of its excellent value proposition. Commercial property rates at places like Mahalakshmi, Lower Parel and Worli have gone through an almost three fold rise in the past decade or so. Residential property is no different. While the price rise may not be the same, owning a home in these areas has gotten exponentially expensive. As mentioned earlier, the time is here for Byculla to witness incredible development, and with it we’re seeing an influx of high-end residential and commercial properties. Real estate marquees have already made first moves into this market, and this only means that property rates will see equivalent rise, like with the Parel-Worli-Mahalakshmi sectors.

While investing in a home or commercial property in South Mumbai has gotten very expensive, Byculla still is in a relatively affordable price bracket. But it definitely is not going to be long before Byculla undergoes radical transformation, and if you’re someone who’s looking for property in South Mumbai, there’s never been a better opportunity to be at the epicentre of a bright future.