CMRL to Build Multi-Storey Office and Commercial Complex at Arumbakkam Metro Station

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will build a multi-storey office and commercial complex to improve land value and earn money from non-fare revenues. This new development will come up on a 1,660-sq.m site behind the station with parking along 100 Feet Road.

The proposed building will house basement parking, stilt parking, which will comprise a four-tier mechanical parking system, and above it, seven floors. Four of these floors will be allotted for commercial purposes—retail shops and food outlets, while the rest three are to be cashing on office spaces, as reported by a senior official of CMRL to The Hindu.

Bids for the works were already called. If the developers are selected within three months, the contract shall be awarded, and 24 months will be given for completion of the works.

The proposal is a part of CMRL’s plan to integrate transit infrastructure closely with real estate development, along the lines of other metro cities. The intent of this integration will be to encourage last-mile connectivity, creating lively station precincts, and generating sustainable revenue, other than from ticket fares.

Arumbakkam, being a mix of residential and commercial, fits itself into a prime candidate for this type of development. CMRL is considering similar interventions within the city—an operation on one such venture at Ekkatuthangal and another under consideration at Saidapet.

In a manner that is in line with their objective of transforming a station into an urban center, where commuting, work, shopping, and leisure converge through commercial and office hubs at the metro stations, this, of course, takes Chennai Metro beyond the transit point.

Through this step metro station will be a full-time destination and not just as a transitory point, thus bringing in increased ridership from urban densification.