Vijay Mallya's white house in the sky

BANGALORE: Mumbai can boast of Mukesh Ambani's $1 billion Antilla, Delhi has its Lutyens' patch, and now Bengaluru gets a billionaire's wonder - a White House in the sky. Kingfisher Towers-Residences at UB City, the new home of India's flamboyant business tycoon, Vijay Mallya, as well as other billionaires is under way and will be completed in the next three years. TOI, in its July 11, 2008, edition, was the first to break the news that Vijay Mallya was razing down his ancestral home on Vittal Mallya Road to make way for a ultra-high end 34-storey millionaires ' paradise on top of which he would have a penthouse. Now, TOI gets you the first-ever visuals and details of Vijay Mallya's 'White House in the sky'. In all probability, Mallya will be the only man in the city who can boast of having a 1-acre parcel of land that's situated in the sky, and not on the ground below.
ABODE OF MILLIONAIRES
Situated in the heart of Bangalore city, Kingfisher Towers has around 82 apartments split in three blocks, of which only 72 are for sale. Of the saleable units, 30 are Mallya's and the rest are with Prestige. The remaining 10 unsold units are to be spilt among members of Mallya's family.
There are five points of entry to the apartments, but to begin with, only two will be used. While the millionaire residents will be using the Kasturba Road Cross entry, Mallya has a separate entry from Vittal Mallya Road, which incidentally, is the same entry as that of his old house. The separate entry, which is adorned on one side by a 39,000 sqft private garden, leads Mallya to his personal lobby, a home-office, and a private lift to the penthouse. Each of the other apartments is 8,000 sqft and begins at Rs 20 crore. The apartments begin only from the 5th floor, and as one goes higher, the price increases. The first four floors, along with two floors in the basement, have been reserved for car parking. While each resident would be getting around 3- 5 car parks, Mallya gets to have a car park area that can accommodate around 100 cars. Mallya will also have a designated area where he will be showcasing his collection of vintage cars.
Initially, the project was to have around 100 units in three different sizes, but the plans were changed to have apartments of one size of 8,000 sqft. It is learnt that many of the millionaire buyers didn't like the idea of there being different apartment sizes as such a scenario would result in ego clashes among them.
TOI has learnt that while Prestige have sold out their share of the apartments, Mallya has just begun the process of selling. Kingfisher Towers might well be the only apartment building in Bangalore, where maids would get their own personal lift and lobby area, which would lead in to their private living quarters.
The luxury project has a 6,000-sqft clubhouse and garden on the 5th floor, a similar sized swimming pool area on the 10th floor, a badminton court on the 15th floor, and party hall and terrace garden on the 25th floor. There is also a 25,000-sqft common garden area for residents that is situated along the entry.
MALLYA'S PENTHOUSE
Situated on the 33rd and 34th floors of the building, Mallya's penthouse sits on one-acre, which is supported by the three blocks 32 storeys high. The penthouse, split in two levels, will have a built-up area of around 40,000 sqft, and would boast a wine cellar, an indoor heated pool, an outdoor infinity pool, a gym, a salon and a spa, to name a few. The roof of the penthouse will have a helipad and, of course, the stars above.
RECAP
In 2008, Vijay Mallya, chairman, UB Group, decided to raze down his 4.5-acre ancestral home to make way for a luxury high-rise, on top of which he would build a penthouse for himself. But, the project was kept under wraps, and Mallya had denied to TOI that such an idea was even being conceptualized.
Once upon a time, the entire land parcel, which now houses UB City, and the upcoming Kingfisher Towers, comprised a brewery which belonged to the UB Group. The land parcel in front of UB City on which the J W Marriott hotel is being built was also part of the brewery.
In September 2009, while briefing shareholders at the 93 rd annual general meeting of United Breweries (holdings ) Limited, the parent company of the UB Group, Mallya had said, "We have got permission to develop an additional 500,000 sqft of space in UB City. This has come about due to changes in the zonal regulations of the area, which has resulted in an increase in the floor area ratio (FAR)."
While Mallya didn't comment further on the subject, UB Group CFO, Ravi Nedungadi, had then said, "There are plans of building a highend apartment."
Then in 2010, while declaring the fourth quarter results of United Breweries Holdings, Mallya himself announced that he had "executed a joint development agreement with a developer on 26 th April 2010, for the development of a luxury residential building in the available land in UB City". The developer was none other than Prestige Group. He also mentioned that the joint development would be in the ratio of 55% to UB and 45% to Prestige.
Meanwhile, Prestige Group, which owns the Oakwood Premier Prestige Serviced Residences in UB City, began renovation work on 46 serviced apartments, situated on the top two floors of the hotel, which would be the temporary address for Mallya and his family, until Kingfisher Towers- Residences at UB City is built.