Lokhandwala Complex

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For other places with the same name, see Kandivali#Lokhandwala Township.

Lokhandwala Complex, also known as Lokhandwala is a large residential and commercial area in Andheri, Mumbai, India. It is located approx 5 km from Andheri Station (Andheri (w)). The name 'Lokhandwala' refers to the construction firm Lokhandwala Constructions Pvt. Ltd. [1], who were the primary developers of the suburb of Versova which was basically a marshland. The official name for the area, Shri Swami Samartha Nagar, is less well known.

1 Gentrification
- 1.1 Lokhandwala vicintiy
- 1.2 People Who Make Lokhandwala
2 References

[edit] Gentrification

When Mr Siraj Lokhandwala, proprietor of Lokhandwala Constructions, spotted the vast marshland in the area of Versova in 1978, he was discouraged by every broker in town to buy the land simply because they felt that no one would want to live so far away. However, Lokhandwala did go ahead with his vision and sources say that he had to deal with a lot of difficulties on the way. For one the entire Marshland was one big pit of Quicksand and Lokhandwala had send out an army of camels to fill up that area with mud. Another anecdote from a broker back then says that when investors wanted to see where the building will be built, Lokhandwala use to throw a stone into the distance and say 'There' because there was still no path to the plot through all the quicksand. But true to his word, Lokhandwala delivered and set new standards for middle class living through swimming pools and landscaping.

What most people get confused about is that today there is another firm in the area of Worli that is passing off the name of Lokhandwala Construction and calling themselves Lokhandwala Builders and creating a lot of confusion in the mind of consumers when they are not related nor do they have any affiliation with the Lokhandwala Group or family except for the fact that even their last name is Lokhandwala.

Initially a middle class suburban area, the area has gone upscale along with nearby Andheri neighbourhoods. Residential Housing costs valued in the early 80s at approximately Rs.125-225 per sq. ft. are now valued at nearly Rs.15,000 per sq. ft (residential). Residents include many Bollywood film personalities, Non-Resident Indians, and others. Recently the restaurant Rhythym at the start of the main market road was offered Rs.21 crores by the Citigroup.

There are two gardens in Lokhandwala which reserve a green patch in the middle. They also serve as venues for a Yoga club, Laughter club, Senior citizens activities, various sports meets for children etc. There is a jogging track adjoining the Lokhandwala back road.

Lokhandwala Complex also has a dedicated website by the name [2] for the lokhandwalaites which has complete business and other details. user can log on to it and get a complete business directory .

Lokhandwala Complex has a roughtly pentagon shape, as can be seen in this Google Earth image^[1].

[edit] Lokhandwala vicintiy

Lokhandwala has transformed from a largely residential suburb to one of the busiest markets (like Linking Road in Bandra), boasting complexes like the Infiniti shopping mall, Citi Mall as well as Cinemax, Fame Adlabs and Fun Republic Multiplexes. It also has the choicest of restaurants, ice-cream and gelato parlours and fast - food joints. Some of the oldest businesses in the area include Rajpoot Dairy, Sasural Restaurant, Food Inn and High Point.

Every Diwali, this street is lit up with lights.

Nearby housing areas include Shastri Nagar and Tarapore Gardens. Nearbyneighbourhoods include Four Bungalows (1 km) Seven Bungalows (1.5 km), and the Versova Telephone Exchange (1 km).

The dreams of Mr. Siraj Lokhandwala never stopped there and Lokhandwala Construction Ind. Pvt. Ltd. started building a new township in Kandivali, popularly known as Kandivali Lokhandwala.

Mr. Siraj Lokhandwala passed away in the month of February 2008. He was a One Man Army.