Mumbai Bengaluru: Realty developer Prestige Estates Projects’ subsidiary Prestige Projects has acquired a prime sea-facing land parcel near Marine Lane and Charni Road in south Mumbai from DB Realty’s subsidiary Marine Drive Hospitality & Realty for over 704 crore.
The deal values the plot at over Rs 306 crore per acre, pushing it higher in the tally of the most expensive land transactions anywhere in the country.
DB Realty had initially planned to develop a 125-story luxury hotel on the plot. The plan was later modified in favour of a luxury residential project with two towers, which remained a non-starter.
Prior to this, Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company had been tempted to auction the said land parcel to recover Rs 473 crore in loan and interest. Edelweiss ARC had taken over the plot owned by DB Realty’s subsidiary Marine Drive Hospitality last year after it failed to repay a Rs 439 crore loan.
Edelweiss ARC had taken possession of the plot after the developer defaulted on a loan provided by IFCI and the Central Bank of India. Following this transaction, DB Realty has utilised the monies paid by Prestige Projects to repay the lenders.
Loan OBLIGATIONS are also taken over.
The buyer has also taken over certain loan obligations of DB Realty, and thus all the lenders have released and reconveyed the security interest created in the said property. Hence, there is no subsisting charge, mortgage, or security interest on the said property, as shown by the agreement ac- cessed through CRE Matrix.
DB Realty had acquired the land as part of a redevelopment project from a local real estate developer in 2005. The proposed hotel project was abandoned after it got entangled in issues related to approvals for a higher floor space index, which is the ratio of development permitted on a plot.
According to reports, the plot was being jointly developed by DB Realty and Pune-based Panchshil Realty, but work on two high-end luxury towers planned later got stuck early last year over non-payment of loans.
The Prestige Group is planning to develop two luxury residential towers on this plot overlooking the Queen’s Necklace and the Arabian Sea.
Source – The Economic Times
