Why Sholinganallur could be the best address on OMR?

With the 'OMR dream' already in shatters due to the global economic turmoil, unoccupied office spaces along OMR, inordinate delay in completing the 6 lane highway and absolute lack of progress in constructing the much needed service lanes, there is little positive news surrounding OMR nowadays.

However, one positive news about OMR is that Sholinganallur could well become the best address on OMR. And in the long term, possibly in Chennai!

Disclaimer: I do not have any real estate interest/business in Sholinganallur neither I live in Sholinganallur.

I traveled through all the villages along OMR in the last month and observe that Sholinganallur could well attract quality residents and positive developments in times to come. I’m trying to list some of the reasons. Differences in opinion are welcome!

Being a suburb far away from the chaos of the city, encroachments are much limited in Sholinganallur. And when the OMR and ECR developments brought it closer to the city, developments outpaced encroachers in the game! However, encroachments do exist and notable ones are those on the lake off Medavakkam road and narrow lanes behind Satyam office (on the eastern side of OMR).

Wide roads criss-crossing a village is the best sign for growth in the Indian context. Velachery is one of the best examples. Of many villages along OMR, most do not have good roads cutting through them. Sholinganallur is an exception. It has good connectivity to Tambaram-GST Road, Multiple access to Chennai city, Mahabalipuram and the entertainment corridor East Coast Road (ECR)-Pondicherry. Even I saw some interior roads that are wide enough to attract quality retail space and office space. Kelambakkam could have been the other one to boast good connectivity, but due to the proposed bypass roads on OMR, the connectivity advantage would be lost for Kelambakkam.

One of the most important factors in getting quality residents is the availability of good educational institutions. Somehow, Sholinganallur has attracted many good schools in the recent years. Out of these, I like Gateway-The complete schools, as it has good infrastructure and boasts offering activity based education in addition to the multi-racial, multi-cultural exposure at an early age.

Most of the residents of Sholinganallur are happy that they have a panchayat that actually ‘listens’! I could see street lights installed across most of the approved areas. There is a massive initiative underway to lay tar road in approved layouts.
Residents are happy that metro water connection is being provided fairly quickly.

Recently Regional Transport Office (RTO) has been inaugurated on the Sholinganallur junction, near ECR Link road (Kalaignar Karunanidhi salai -KK salai), which will cater to residents of Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Karapakkam, Sholinganallur and Semmencherry on OMR; Uthandi and Ijambakkam on East Coast Road (ECR), Medavakkam, Madipakkam, Pallikarnai, Sitlapakkam and Ottiyampakkam.

Office of the Asst Commissioner, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department, has started functioning from New Kumaran Nagar, off KK salai, Sholinganallur. This will cater to the residents of villages along OMR, ECR, Medavakkam, Madipakkam, Nanganallur etc.

The most important advantage Sholinganallur has, is the density of A-class office space. One could say this is where the maximum number of professionals work per a given area, outside CBD (Central Business District). Siruseri or Taramani might beat this record once fully developed, but currently, no competition is even close to Sholinganallur.
The impact of the slowdown could be less on Sholinganallur, as Sholinganallur is building huge Special Economic Zones. Though no one will be spared by the economic meltdown, SEZs are considered to be safer than STPIs.

Sholinganallur has an interesting diverse geography with lot of A-class office spaces, good residential layouts, Various entertainment and dining options, a small stretch of beach and above all plenty of empty spaces to grow! It all leaves Sholinganallur with a fair chance of becoming the best address on OMR!