One of Mumbai’s largest suburbs, Andheri has always been known to be a bustling and ‘happening’ locality that is home to some well-known residential enclaves for the upper middle class to the high-income class of Mumbai. It was a locality for great shopping, eating out, sports and entertainment, besides being home to several reputed educational institutions. Yet, for some reason, major parts of this suburb wasn’t really associated as a ‘office hub’, such as say the Nariman Point area in South Mumbai or the relatively new Bandra-Kurla complex. All that has changed in the past few years, with Andheri beginning to take its rightful place as a go-to destination for office space in the western suburbs of Mumbai.
Until a few years ago, the mention of an office in Andheri typically evoked a connection with either a unit at SEEPZ or an industrial estate such as the one along Veera Desai Road. One always shuddered to think of the traffic bottlenecks, especially when traveling from the Central/ eastern suburbs of the city. The situation has changed dramatically, especially in the last 10 years or so.
Growth in popularity of Andheri as an office location
Unsurprisingly, a big part of this change in both perception and reality of Andheri for office goers can be attributed to two major infrastructure development initiatives that were completed during this time: the re-development of the Mumbai International airport into a world-class airport, with faster (and prettier!) access to it and even more importantly, the commencement of operations of the first phase of the Mumbai Metro.
The Mumbai Metro has dramatically cut travel times for commuters traveling from the Eastern and Central suburbs of Mumbai. No longer do they have to dread spending hours-on-end in the choc-a-bloc Mumbai traffic. This obviously makes it more appealing for businesses to have their office in a relatively central and ‘happening’ place like Andheri, without worrying too much about talent acquisition and lost productivity due to accessibility limitations.
Similarly, the ‘new-look’ Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport and its growth in the last few years has opened up several opportunities, and it makes a lot of commercial sense for businesses to have their office in close proximity to it. This is especially true for businesses that have dealings with international clients or are involved in the import and export of goods and services.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary is the SME sector, which usually is the main engine of growth for any economy. For SMEs who have the wherewithal to invest in constructing their own office building like the multinationals do, the ability to have a high-quality office on rent, duly customisable if required, in a premium location such as Andheri is indeed a big deal. Operating out of Andheri, they can control their sales, marketing and even distribution activities anywhere in Mumbai quite easily.
The other critical factor is of course—- and very often, the deciding factor– is the prevailing office rental costs in Andheri. While it is a premium location, the effective cost of renting an office in a business centre works out to be less expensive than renting out a stand-alone office, especially if it is unfurnished. If one were to take into account the opportunity costs of operating from an office in a more remote location in Mumbai, say in terms of employee acquisition and retention, and productivity gains due to ease of access, it is fairly obvious that an office in a business centre in Andheri is an excellent option.
Looking for an office to rent in Andheri? Look no further than The Empire Business Centre @ Fulcrum, Andheri for a wide range of office options including private offices, co-working spaces, and virtual offices, tailored for your needs. Simply contact us or call: 1800 2677 111 today to book a tour of the office space.