There is an unseen tussle between the south and the north of the city. North feels south is unduly pampered. And there are a reason or 2 behind that. The metro started in the south before rolling out in the north. Malls, flyovers, stadium, even East Bengal are all in south, not to speak of sprawling housing projects like South City and showpieces like Science City.
Now at last, things are changing in the north, albeit slowly. Once the second Vivekananda Bridge over Hooghly the 2 national highways with the city and further proceeds via proposed Dunlop flyover on way to Belghoria Expressway and beyond, the north will see a mammoth growth in traffic.
Keeping the tempo will be equally ‘powerful’ onslaught of traffic from Kolkata West International City (KWIC) coming up across the river. The scent of this soon-to-happen development is getting stronger by the day, which is why there is a flurry of realty activities along BT Road.
From Shyambazar to Sodpur, many super malls and super housing projects are coming up (see my post, Kolkata of 2007). The wave of makeover is spreading further to the center of the city, the proof of which is the proposed awe-inspiring housing project, Ideal Heights, planned in where else but Sealdah.
Ideal Heights – kissing sky!! [Picture source]
Notwithstanding the chaotic environ around, Ideal Heights, located at 302 APC Road where Cossimbazar Rajbati is, promises to become the ‘destination’ within 3 years. 4 towers will make up Ideal Heights, a 24-storey, 2 23-storey and a 19-storey. Designing by Hafeez Contractor and landscaping by a Singapore-based architect complete the story.
Lifestyle will have different meaning there, what with health spa, swimming pools, palm grove, cascading water-bodies and a high-life club keeping company. The whole area is a huge 2.19 lakh sq ft in which 800,000 sq ft will make up residential space numbering over 500 flats.
If all these pump up your adrenalin, the ‘good’ news is that apartments still cost just about Rs.2650 a sq ft now that will be surely hiked as the project progresses. For the less moneyed, perhaps this is the time to get a dream flat before the cost escalates.
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