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We looked at projects in different parts of the city before deciding on the Dadar Parsi Colony (DPC),” states Ramesh Jogani, managing director of TREC, a limited liability partnership that is developing a 15-storied tower of luxury residences named Garden 6 jointly with builder Boman Irani. When completed in mid-2020, the building on the Colony’s Mancherji Joshi Road will house one 2,084 sq ft home, consisting of four bedrooms, a hall, kitchen and a 140 sq ft deck "offering vistas of the city,” on each floor. The topmost level will feature an open-to-the-sky swimming pool. As states their website, "here soot and steel (will) make way for creepers and petals.” The slab has been laid till the seventh floor, as of July 16, 2019. Five flats have already been sold. Jogani says that the property will have "aspirational value.” Irani communicated to Parsiana that the Colony "is not just a location. It is a way of life. It is legacy strengthened by unity. From a good life and good deeds, to stellar choices that we make, Garden 6 is an extension to the true Zoroastrian spirit of living a fulfilling life and is finesse exemplified.”
Talking to Parsiana in his plush office in Santa Cruz East earlier this year, the developer stated that "we want to match the sensibilities of the area.” The Colony is known for its extensive green cover. The 40 ft high monumental garden on the façade will "bring greenery into the building,” Jogani explained. With the completion of Garden 6, the Colony known for its five gardens nearby, will boast of one more. (In addition to the famous five large gardens, the Colony also has other smaller ones – the Panchgani Garden, the Rustom Tirandaz Garden, Wadia Park, Wadala Garden and five others.)
The partners behind TREC have a "legacy of over three decades with a portfolio of five million sq ft,” notes their website. While Jogani’s family construction business has developed structures in Walkeshwar, Napeansea Road, Worli and Pali Hill among others locations in the city, joint managing director Jayesh Rukhana has over 30 years of experience in the building industry. The firm has one more partner.

 

 

 

 

"The whole city is now a concrete jungle… This is our attempt to retain the quaintness of the Colony.” Will the tower not mar the generally low skyline of the area, with its three and four storied Edwardian and Art Deco buildings? "Urbanization is inevitable… We are being very sensitive to the surroundings… With our vertical garden, ours will be an iconic landmark,” emphasized Jogani.
"Our experience with Parsi home owners is that they are very particular… even stern, but righteous.” Jogani mentioned that there were problems with the residents of a few nearby buildings when the foundation was being laid. The well at Rustomframna Agiary, some 100 m away, had run dry, allegedly on account of the piling work (see "Dry in Dadar,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, May 21, 2017). "There has been no problem thereafter,” Jogani noted.  Zareen Engineer, granddaughter of DPC founder Mancherji Joshi, who heads the Mancherji Edalji Joshi Colony Residents’ Association, rues that the new building will be the only high-rise on a street named after her ancestor. "He had envisaged only three storey structures… The Colony is changing,” she lamented.   
TREC is in talks with suppliers of automated car parking systems that feature pallets that enable horizontal and vertical movement of parking spots just like a puzzle to park and retrieve cars. "The exterior lighting on the atrium framework will make the building stand out from afar, he states.

 

 

 

 

 

To Jogani, apartments in gated communities cannot be termed "premium luxury.” "It is like living in a modern village,” said the managing director. "Premium luxury is more to do with tasteful façades of buildings, the sense of space that can be provided, and the amenities in the building… People wish to reside with like-minded people who they can relate to…Our buyers will be widely traveled families with high disposable incomes… we will make them feel they are special… this is possible only in smaller buildings like ours,” Jogani stated. 
"We weave stories into our developments,” mentioned Jogani. Vice president sales and marketing, Sonal Seth, walked us through the exhibition gallery of future projects in their office. She pointed out images of another upcoming project called +Art at Lower Parel. This is one of their other eight ongoing developments and will boast of a quintuple height forest garden with 20 ft trees, an exhibition gallery, a rock climbing wall and an observatory lounge. "We have merged art, artists, modern residences and your life,” says their website about that property.  
"Whatever we present in our brochures is sacrosanct… ethics is the mainstay of our business… transparency is very important to us… the buyer is relying on me to hand over their homes in the month promised… Sure there will be delays on minor milestones…that we can deal with, and yet deliver within the overall promised date,” Jogani averred. He highlighted that in the premium luxury segment "there is no dearth of buyers… the bigger challenge is speedy acquisition of land and time taken for regulatory approvals.”
Asserted Jogani, "in our business, the customer is not only the king; he is the whole kingdom to be served, before and after the sale is made… many buyers experience a change in tonality of certain builders…they go from being submissive to aggressive… Respect for the customer, even after the sale is complete is ingrained in every employee of TREC.”