Standalone offices find no takers

Hyderabad: Many standalone commercial buildings in Madhapur, Hitec City, Kondapur, Kothaguda and other areas in Cyberabad are sporting “to-let” or “for lease” signs. Several office spaces are lying vacant for the past few months in the once most sought-after stretch from Jubilee Hills Road No. 36 to Hitec City and InOrbit Mall on one side and Kondapur crossroads on the other side.

Realtors attribute high rental values and lack of parking space as the main reasons for vacancy in retail commercial space in standalone buildings located on either side of the main road in Madhapur and Hitec City areas.

Veera Babu, the  director at Cushman and Wakefield (Hyderabad office), said that most IT firms prefer taking office space within furnished IT parks and campuses instead of opting for standalone buildings that are not likely to accommodate all their employees.

“They want 100 per cent diesel generator back-up, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning facilities with finished toilets and leveled flooring; they want high standards of general maintenance and upkeep and ample car parking.

Amenities like common cafeteria, gymnasium, food courts, recreation areas and high-speed lifts in addition to state-of-the-art security systems. The IT firms also look for good neighbours, typically MNCs, in other parts of the building. Some of these features or most of them may not be available in stand-alone buildings,” Babu said.

Local real estate agents said while the ground and first floor commercial spaces were being rented out easily at a premium rate of Rs 140 per sft, the vacancies were mostly in the second, third and fourth floors.

“Owners of the standalone buildings are not willing to reduce the rental price. They prefer to wait until they get a good price. The rental rate for the upper floors is anywhere between Rs 40 and Rs 60, which the prospective parties say is on the higher side. Many prospective parties have also complained about lack of parking space for tenants of upper floors,” said Rama Krishna of RK Rentals.

However, some building owners have another version.  “Despite offering fully-furnished office spaces with power backup facilities, decent flooring and visibility and sufficient parking along with computer systems in standalone buildings, there is little response. There have been a few enquiries but the same are not really translating into actual deals,” said A. Srinivasa Reddy, owner of a four-storeyed posh building at Madhapur.