Developer of the month
W
hile most developers in Chennai are only focused on looking into the future, Doshi Housing is taking a step back by reflecting on their journey so far, as they celebrate their 30th anniversary. Executive Director, Mehul Joshi, who has spent over 15 years growing Doshi Housing from a small-time builder to a top-ranked developer with a clientele of over 2,500 satisfied customers today, is all smiles, “We have always been a strong player in the residential sector and continue to focus our strength predominantly on meeting the residential demands of our customers.”
A walk down memory lane It all began when Mehul’s father and Founder of Doshi Housing, Harshad Doshi was looking a for space to set up his watch showroom on Mount Road (Anna Salai). An accidental break into the real estate industry turned into the proverbial 'goose that lays the golden egg' and they have never looked back since! The company soon moved from a fringe player to becoming one of Chennai’s leading real estate developer with over 3 million square feet of construction under their belt and another million in the pipeline. Always willing push the boundaries for their clients, one of the many attributes to Doshi’s success over the last 30 years is persistence. “From the beginning, customer service and transparency has been the key attributes to our continued success,” says Mehul.
Pioneers in affordable mass housing Doshi was one of the early entrants into the mass affordable apartment housing in Chennai. “We really had a tough time convincing people about the 'apartment' culture. Our Sri Mahalakshmi Apartments in Adambakkam was the single largest apartment project back in 1995, with over 325 apartments. Today, high-rise living has well and truly arrived in Chennai!” he exclaims.
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Chennai Realty I June 2011
Our Sri Mahalakshmi Apartments in Adambakkam was the single largest apartment project back in 1995, with over 325 apartments. Today, high-rise living has well and truly arrived in Chennai!
innovative use of technology and newage construction material, wherever the finances permit. As Doshi Housing gears up for yet another busy year ahead with three projects in Chennai - a 11-acre residential development consisting of over 1,234 apartments in Karapakkam on OMR, a 7-acre Villa project at Vengaivasal, off Tambaram-Velachery Road and a 5-acre high-rise project at Vanagaram, off Poonamalle High Road - it is clear that the company is headed for growth and will continue to generate prosperity for its customers, employees and construction partners.
Keeping up with the times According to Mehul, the construction and real estate sector are one of the toughest businesses to be in today. While other sectors have been more or liberalised, the real estate sector continues to grapple with bureaucratic delays, archaic policies and procedures which have failed to keep up with times, resulting in creating an artificial scarcity for properties. “Why does a builder need to get 15 or more NOCs from independent authorities even before applying for approval from CMDA?” laments Mehul. Because of these pot-holes in the process, it takes anywhere between 6 months to 2 years for a project to get the approval of the CMDA in Chennai while the same takes only 90-120 days in other developed states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. In fact, such delays largely contribute to a mis-match in the demand and supply situation in Chennai, resulting in a sharp rise of property prices. Grappling with all these problems, Doshi Housing has to be complimented for finding other ways to improve their offerings through
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