As AAI Reintroduces Height Restrictions, Redevelopment of Certain Buildings Near Juhu Airport is Stalled.

Redevelopment of old buildings in Juhu

Will this affect the Juhu real estate market in a big way? If new real estate inventory does not get created in Juhu area then probably the current prices may go up or maybe not.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) informed homeowners of Juhu Gitanjali Vastushilp housing society on January 10 that the construction height is restricted to 32.27 m, therefore halting redevelopment plans for the Juhu Gitanjali Vastushilp housing society.

Multiple Juhu buildings impacted

According to an AAI official, this is not the only residential society impacted by the height limit modification, and the revised height constraint has altered for 25 structures in the Juhu-D N Nagar Andheri region. This zone is near the Juhu airport, thus any development near an airport must have a height clearance.

With the decreased height restriction, there are concerns that real estate developers looking for construction of real estate in Juhu will no longer find it worthwhile to embark on or finish redevelopment projects. This fear is especially high among inhabitants of buildings that have already been destroyed for redevelopment prior to the AAI's notification.

A tough situation

Many members of the community believe that AAI issued the updated NOC without providing notice and without soliciting any objections/suggestions. As a result, the redevelopment potential of several structures has been harmed.

According to reports, the new NOCAS coordinates were given in December 2020, and the AAI was fully aware of it. The NOCs should not have been given during the changeover period. Once awarded, the NOC is valid for eight years and may be extended by one year. They did this before in August 2019, and they have now done so again in the case of new buildings.

According to an architect working in Juhu, the previous height limit in the region was 57 metres, which made reconstruction of various structures difficult since the full potential of the land could not be used. With the height limit reduced by up to 20 metres, it is impossible to envision the renovation of many structures, many of which are more than a half-century old.