Ridgeway Apartments at Malabar Hill. A small and quaint building overseeing marine drive in Mumbai was used to house bank executives, primarily HSBC and Standard Chartered executives.
In 2013, Standard Chartered decided to sell their share of the houses in the building and quickly came to realisation that selling all six in go would be more beneficial and listed all of them for sale.
At around a similar time, fortunately for both parties, billionaire stock investor, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was looking to upgrade to new home. He wasn’t just looking for a house or two but rather a massive building all for himself.
Jhunjhunwala took the plunge and won the bidding for the six apartments. He shelled out Rs 176 crore for them which was 20% above the minimum reserve price. He was one step closer to his dream home.
Four years pass, and HSBC decide to sell their share of the six apartments of the building. Jhunjhunwala pounced on the opening and shelled out Rs.195 crore for them this time. The entire building was his now.
Now, all that was left was to demolish the standing building and begin the construction of the home he had been eagerly waiting for. He initially planned to build a bungalow but quickly scrapped that idea. He finally decided on a mouth-watering 13 floor building overviewing the beautiful Arabian Sea.
Ameet Pawar of M/s Aakar Architects and Consultants, one of the many agencies involved in the construction of the building said that Jhunjhunwala has been diligently understanding the expenses required for the approval from the relevant authority – especially in relation to premiums that are to be paid to the municipal corporation for a residential home.
The building spans a massive 70,000 square feet! The first three floors are reported to have multiple mid-size rooms, bathrooms and storage areas. There are tentative plans to build a lobby, foyer and a football court on the ground floor while the basement will be solely for parking.
The fourth floor would house a massive hall to host parties, gathering and functions. A gym and spa would take over the eighth floor while four large guest bedrooms would be just two floors above.
The children get their own floor at the eleventh storey while Mr. Jhunjhunwala and wife would take over the twelfth floor. Reports suggest that their bedroom would span 731 square feet making it 20% larger than the average 2BHK in Mumbai.
And finally, we reach the terrace which would host a garden and an open seating area to let loose and take in the sprawling views of the ocean.
