President steps in to align city’s iconic high rise Altair

Nimal Perera 

• Appoints urban development expert and Hilton Colombo Chairman Nimal Perera as Special Authorised Officer to fast-track completion of venture delayed for 3 years 
• Move is without prejudice to ongoing legal battle among overseas based promoters
• 400 apartment units venture 95% complete, finishing pending
• 270 units sold and mostly paid; balance units in various phases
• Altair was first project cleared by Rajapaksa when he was Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Perera was UDA Chairman
• Angry over delay, high net worth individuals float Owners Association; confident of early completion or by early 2021 following presidential move
• To seek compensation for delay over cost of financing, exchange rate hit and assurance of rental guarantees
• Late last year three State-owned and controlled banks lent $ 25 m for project’s completion; prior to that promoters invested $ 251 m

By Nisthar Cassim

In a progressive move President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped in to complete the multi-billion rupee and the city’s iconic high rise property development Altair which is three years behind schedule and facing legal battle between overseas promoters.

Rajapaksa has appointed urban development veteran and Colombo Hilton owning company Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC Chairman Nimal Perera as the Special Authorised Officer to fast-track the completion of Altair, which is a 400-apartment luxury mixed development. It was to be completed and handed over to the owners in 2017 or three years ago. 

The delay has been extended and complicated by a dispute between overseas-based shareholders of the Altair promoter Indocean Developers Ltd., and the case is before the Commercial High Court in Colombo.

Sources told the Daily FT that the appointment of Perera was without prejudice to the ongoing battle of investors and promoters who are based in Calcutta, India and Singapore. Perera has been engaging with promoters, buyers and bankers. 

President Rajapaksa’s intervention follows concerns expressed by buyers of the apartments as well as urban development planners. Incidentally, Altair was the first project cleared by Rajapaksa when he was the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development under the Special Development Projects Act, whilst Perera was the Chairman of the Urban Development Authority. The duo was responsible for major uplifts in urban development during their tenure. 

Of the 400 units, only 270 have been bought whilst the rest (30%) are in various stages of the sales procedure. Most of the buyers had either fully settled the payments or are in near complete stages. The average cost per square foot for some of the original buyers is estimated at $ 325 as against the more newer options such as Shangri-La and ITC which ranged around $ 450 and $ 500 per square foot. 

Angry over the long delay of Altair, several high net worth individuals who had bought apartments have formed an Owners Association to take up matters including compensation for delay over cost of financing, exchange rate hit and assurance of rental guarantees.

A spokesman for the Association welcomed the move by President Rajapaksa in the interest of completing Altair.

“Since the appointment there is clarity and direction. We have also been talking to all parties concerned to expedite the completion or by early 2021,” he added.

Putting the project on track is also critical for three of the State-controlled banks which in October last year provided a syndicated loan of $ 25 million for its completion. The loan, repayable in 18 months with a grace period of six months, was provided by the Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank and National Development Bank. This infusion of funds was in addition to the $ 251 million (Rs. 45 billion) that has already been invested in Altair.

Urban development experts said completing Altair, designed by world famous and award-winning architect Moshe Safdie, is also important to improve the investor confidence and the commercial and tourism profile of Sri Lanka. This public interest facet was another consideration for President Rajapaksa’s move.

Altair has been promoted as a one-of-its-kind development in South Asia in terms of architectural design, structural engineering, and living experience. Safdie was also the architect for the world famous Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and was named Laureate of 2019 Wolf Prize in Architecture, considered to be the second most important in the world after the Nobel Prize.

The building comprises of two tower blocks, which are oriented to the movement of the sun to harness the tropical breezes. A 63-storey sloping tower leans in to a taller, 68-storey vertical tower, with a diagrid structure that visually accentuates the slope of the inclined stepped tower. The unique combination of a straight and a sloping tower gives the building the distinctive appearance that has made it an iconic element in Colombo’s rapidly changing skyline.

Acknowledged as a new paradigm in contemporary living in Sri Lanka, the Altair building offers its 400 apartments spectacular views of Colombo’s Beira Lake, the Port of Colombo, the Indian Ocean and the city. The diagrid structure is highly rationalised and allows for naturally ventilated and beautifully-lit units that are very private. The staggered stepped form of the leaning tower also allows for large terraces, which provide prime city and direct ocean views.

Altair’s apartments range from 1,468 square foot two-bedroom units to palatial and eponymously appointed Presidential Suites and Sky Villas of up to 5,277 square feet. In one of its last press announcements, Altair said prices range from $ 525,000 to $ 2 million. A distinguishing feature of Altair is that 45% of total space has been set aside for public areas, which is well above the industry average.