Kalanagar rechristened BKC; joins list of rebranded areas

A builder rebranding areas to sell super luxurious flats is not a new trend in this island city. However, now a prime location like Kalanagar in Bandra, too, has joined the list. A real estate firm of a luxury project has rebranded Kalanagar as BKC (Bandra Kalanagar Complex) in order to market flats worth `6 crore and more.

In the past, builders have rebranded areas with a suffix or prefix such as BKC-Annex, Upper Juhu, Upper Worli and New Wadala. However, these addresses neither have a pin code nor do they find any mention in the administrative records of the Birhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in the case of BKC.

For instance, real estate projects by leading developers such as Rustomjee Builders in Kalanagar and Kanakia Group on the peripheral boundary of BKC have been using a unique marketing tactic of tagging areas not located in BKC as BKC annexure.

Besides, in a project jointly being executed by DB Realty, Adarsh Buildestate Limited (ABL) Group and Radius Developers, Kalanagar has been rebranded with the use of BKC and now defined as Bandra Kalanagar Complex (BKC). The project is spread over five acres.

Incidentally, the project is exactly opposite the headquarter of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) which uses the address of Grihanirman Bhavan, Kalanagar, Bandra (east), Mumbai 400051. According to the BMC records, the project falls on N Dharmadhikari Road in Kalanagar.

Expressing no surprise, Ashutosh Limaye, head of Research & Real Estate Intelligence Service, JLL India, said, “It helps in terms of initial merits of the project and persuade a potential buyer to take a look at the project. The buyers nowadays take pretty mature decisions and I do not believe such a marketing strategy results in promised deals. Rebranding is done when a developer attempts to attract more buyers. One of the other reasons could be the less demand for the project.” A similar strategy is also used for commercial inventory in the peripheral areas of BKC. For example, although according to the Kanakia group, its a commercial complex ‘Kanakia Zillion’ is located in BKC annexure, the BMC records say it is located at the junction of CST Road and LBS Road in Kurla (west).

Ashish Shah, chief operating officer of Radius Developers, said, “I do not think that by calling Kalanagar as BKC, we will be able to attract more buyers. But I agree that it is marketing strategy to lure maximum buyers and publicise the project. Besides, the fact remains that the end user (the buyer) would obviously go by what is the real. Rebranding is just a way to promote the project.”

Dharmesh Jain, managing director, Nirmal Lifestyle, said, “The moment you rebrand an area, its propensity increases. People who had never considered buying or living in such area, suddenly start viewing the area in a new light. Once marketing activities begin, a particular area is branded, the developers start promoting the project by drawing special attention to the travel time, social infrastructure, facilities and amenities.”

Ravi Gurav, member, Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, said, “Rebranding of areas is done to market projects by highlighting the facilities and amenities available around it.”