Havelock City cashes in on aspiring lifestyles

By Cheranka Mendis

Havelock City is cashing in on high urban living with 25% of its apartments in the second phase already reserved and building of two new towers commencing in October.  In addition the company is building Sri Lanka’s largest ever clubhouse at an investment of US$ 4 million.

Termed as the largest real estate investment in Sri Lanka, the clubhouse which will be ready by October 2012 would be built on an area of 40,000 sq.ft. and would be on the roof garden surrounded by the residential towers that are said to come up by 2015.

The clubhouse has been redesigned from the original plan to encompass more facilities and services for the residents of Havelock City on a larger space of land on a more central location.

The clubhouse has been designed by an architect firm in China under a consultancy firm from Hong Kong while the landscaping is done by a Singaporean company. Chief Executive Officer of Overseas Reality, developers of the complex Pravir Samarasinghe stated that the clubhouse which will have a six acre landscaped roof garden that will “perhaps be the largest roof garden in the world”.                               

Havelock City...

Work on the six acre landscaped roof garden with water features has already commenced and one third is already complete, Samarasinghe said.  The garden will have a cascade pool, large playground, lily pond, bamboo pool, and fragrant garden, spice garden, kitchen garden and open air exercise corner among other facilities.

The four-storied clubhouse building will exclusively be for the residents of Havelock City and will have a multifunctional hall, modern gym with sauna, two squash courts, two recreational meeting rooms for private gatherings and parties, two restaurants, lounge areas, day care centre for kids, swimming pool 30 metre in length, a children’s pool and Jacuzzi.

Meanwhile the two new apartment towers to be built have managed to sell off 25% of their apartments even before the contract for construction has been awarded. The two apartments towers which will begin construction in October this year will fall under Phase II of the entire project and will take approximately 30 months to complete.

Investment budgeted for the project is in the region of US$ 35 to 40 million, Chief Operating Officer of Overseas Reality Remaz Ghouse told the Daily FT. Ghouse stated that 225 apartments would be constructed under phase two.

Samarasinghe stated that the contracts for construction had not been awarded yet and that the company was looking at both local and international contractors to start building. “The response has been great,” he said, “there has been a lot of interest and the reservations for new units have been up to mark as well.”

Phase one comprising Elibank and Park Towers have only 10 more apartments to be sold. The completed project comprises 226 apartments on 22 levels and has been in occupation since early last year.

Phases III and IV which aim at the completion of the four final towers in the eight tower plan is scheduled to start construction in early 2012 and is hoped to be launched in 36 months. At the end of the project Havelock City is to have 1080 apartments.

The commercial building comprising of Sri Lanka’s largest shopping mall built on six levels on a retail area of approximately 550,000 sq.ft. and construction work on two high rise buildings will start by July 2012. Samarasinghe stated that the expectation was to have the entire project with the ‘city within a city’ concept completed by late 2014 or early 2015.

The construction cost for the entire project has been marked as US$ 300 million.