Delhi-based hotel chain Lemon Tree Hotels, which is in the process of expanding its footprint in the country is expected to operate 19 hotels across 16 cities in the country by 2013. It presently operates 11 hotels and will increase its room inventory to about 2,700 rooms at the end of the current development phase. Currently, the company has hotels under development in Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The hotels developed in these locations will be business hotels.

As a parallel growth strategy, the company aims to increase its presence in the leisure segment. It presently operates one resort property in Goa and will commission more resorts in Shimla, Alleppey in Kerala, Aurangabad and Goa until 2013.Lemon Tree aims to increase its presence in the country with the ‘multiple units per city’ format.

We will look at increased penetration in markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad where we can compete aggressively. Once, we gain enough market share in these locations and saturate these markets, we will grow through the ‘hub and spoke’ model,” informed Patu Keswani, CMD, Lemon Tree Hotels.

More : travelbizmonitor.com

Gurgaon-based Falcon Realty Services is planning to build affordable, eco-friendly housing projects in Bihar after having received a positive response in the affordable studio apartment segment in the National Capital Region (NCR), New Delhi. The company targets Patna, Muzaffarpur and Purnia for its projects. Prices will start from Rs 5.5 lakh.

The company has already identified land for these ventures and is holding talks with the state authorities for acquisition of 200 acre for each of the three projects. The estimated cost of the projects is Rs 300 crore.

“We are here to take property development in Bihar to new heights. With this move, Falcon hopes to redefine the state’s real estate landscape by offering eco-friendly luxury housing at truly affordable costs,” B Yadav, CEO, Falcon Realty, said. The first phase of the project would be completed by 2010-end, he said, adding Rs 51,000 has been fixed as the booking amount for the flats.

More : financialexpress.com

Chennai’s brand new landmark — the Express Avenue — is fast nearing completion. Strategically located on Club House Road, off Mount Road, the mall is Chennai’s biggest ever and boasts a good mix of commercial, hospitality and entertainment spaces.

The 10-acre project that’s coming up inside the historic Indian Express Estate will have four floors of retail space, a building for corporate offices and a hotel. The retail complex will be ready by mid next year, informs C. Arumugam, the president of Express Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.

Nine lakh sq. ft. of retail space is ready for occupation and tenants are already in the process of doing up the interiors. Besides the variety in terms of retail (featuring premium national and international brands), the mall has plenty of drive-in space and ample car park that extends to 5,00,000 sq.ft. There are three basement parking lots that can easily accommodate 1,600 cars.

More : beta.thehindu.com

Pride Group of Hotels will launch its fifth Pride Biznotel at Salem in Tamil Nadu by January 2010. Besides, it will open its sixth Pride Biznotel Aurangabad in Maharashtra by March 2010. Pride Biznotel Salem will have 90 rooms whereas Pride Biznotel Aurangabad will have 65 rooms. The Group will retain the management and marketing contract for both the upcoming properties.

S P Jain, Chairman, Pride Group of Hotels said, “We have completely renovated the Salem property. The property will be targeted to industrial clientele. Pride Biznotel Aurangabad will be targeted to corporate and leisure clients.”

Currently, Pride Biznotel is operational in Pune, Jaipur, Mahabaleshwar and Chennai. The Group has started the complete operations of its Bengaluru property, Pride Bengaluru, which was launched in September 2009 and has 100 keys.

Source : travelbizmonitor.com

Director Abbas Tyrewala has bought the house belonging to Ayesha Takia’s mom, but he cannot move into his new home in Versova here as she has yet to move out.

We wanted to move to a place closer to my parents. And we also needed a bigger place than the one we’re in currently. We looked around and then when our agent told us about this house in Versova in a highrise. We checked it out and fell in love with it immediately. It was exactly what we were looking for,” Tyrewala told IANS.

The director, who made his mark with hit movie Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, and his wife didn’t know the place belonged to Ayesha and her mother.

More : thaindian.com

After the first-of-it-kind character Googly Gyanchand for out of home digital screens; OOH Media Pvt Ltd, India’s largest out-of-home television has now tailored another special character OOHLTA n POOHLTA. A 20 second vignette which will play in all clusters across India.

Commenting on this Ashutosh Parekh, Content Head, OOH Media says, “With the past experience of the character based content like Googly Gyanchand and Mr.Foodie, has given us the confidence to create ‘OOHPISODES’ (mini programmes) on our channel for OOHLTA n POOHLTA. This has been an innovation not just within OOH Media but the platform itself. As a part of content strategy, adding the ‘OOH factor’ to all our content is the critical litmus”.

OOHLTA n POOHLTA took birth on the editor’s table in Gurgaon one boring humid July afternoon. They are raised on a staple diet of mindless humour and unwitting one liners, hence their stick figures. This 20 second vignette will have a ‘Bakwaas’ conversation of the upside down on everything and anything.

More : indiaprwire.com

Residents of Ambience Lagoon Apartments in Gurgaon carried out a demonstration against their builder, M/s Ambience Developers and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd on Saturday for not allowing them to use the parking space outside their residential complex and for allegedly starting commercial construction in residential area.

The residents had recently filed an FIR against the builder for allegedly giving incorrect information about the total area on which their apartments have been constructed. The RWA had also served a legal notice to the builder alleging that the area for which the builder actually obtained a licence to build the housing complex was 18.98 acres, while the actual area it occupies is only 7.98 acres.

Just outside our residential complex we are not allowed to stand with our vehicles even for a minute while the builders use the same parking space for visitors at the Ambience Mall and Leela Kempinski Hotel and charge for that. They are generating revenue from every inch of land but denying us our rights, fumed Deepak Gupta, vice president of the RWA.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Realty major DLF has decided to bring all of its rental properties under a single umbrella, as part of a business restructuring, to optimise the value of its various realty verticals.

In a presentation to its investors, DLF said that its realty business, henceforth, will be divided into two –annuity (rentals) and development company.

Under the restructuring exercise, DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), a subsidiary of DLF, would emerge as a group’s flagship company for holding rental assets — offices, malls, facilities management and utilities.

More : indianexpress.com

Low-density housing, with homes set out spaciously amid sprawling green spaces, is growing increasingly popular and real estate developers such as the Jaypee Group, Fire Capital Fund and Vipul are wooing buyers with a number of such niche projects.

Low-density housing projects have an average of only 10-20 dwelling units acre and are priced a premium compared to group housing, which can average around 35-40 units on an acre.

Manish Kumar, head of strategic consulting for North India at global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), says that the residential real estate market is seeing low-density housing gaining in popularity for two reasons—speed of delivery and lower risk for the developer.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

It’s that feeling of deja vu. Delhi-based real estate developer DLF has announced a merger of its commercial realty arm DLF Assets (DAL) with itself a move aimed at repaying some of DAL’s debt. ( Watch )

This merger is also aimed at consolidating all commercial properties under DLF, which will help add an annual income of close to Rs 500-600 crore in the form of lease rentals from 2009-10. DAL currently earns around Rs 325 crore from lease rentals.

The new structure involves the merger of DLF subsidiary DLF Cyber City Developers with Caraf Builders and Constructions, which is the holding company of DAL. The valuation ratio approved by the board for Cyber City and Caraf is in the ratio of 60:40.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com