World One is a supertall residential skyscraper currently on hold in Mumbai, India. It is located in Lower Parel, South Mumbai on the site of the defunct Shrinivas Mill. The site also houses two other lower towers: World View and World Crest. World One was being built at an estimated cost of over US$321 million. Construction began in 2011. As of September 2018 the project is stalled at 285m due to height restrictions near Mumbai Airport. World One's architect is Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the structural engineer is Leslie E. Robertson Associates & MEP engineer is Buro Happold Engineers. The whole project i.e. The World Towers consists of three towers. There were two construction civil contractors involved: and Simplex, Muscovite Group.
History
The Lodha Group purchased the site of the defunct Shrinivas Mill in Lower Parel, Mumbai from Shrinivas Cotton in 2005. In June 2010, The Economic Times reported that the Lodha Group had secured over from Singapore funds GIC and Temasek, and a property fund of mortgage giant HDFC, and intended to develop property on the Shrinivas Mill site. In 2010, the developer announced the project to construct the World One at the site of the defunct mill. The Lodha Group would also construct the World View and the World Crest, on the same site, as part of the project. World One initially faced opposition from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation over security concerns related to the height of the building. World One was built at an estimated cost of over US$321 million. The interiors of the tower were designed by Giorgio Armani, and includes a swimming pool, gym and health club, cricket pitches and a pavilion. The 117 storey tower contains 290 apartments, some of which overlook the Arabian Sea. The contract to construct World One was awarded to a joint venture between UAE-based and Simplex Infrastructure. Construction on World One began in 2011. By December 2014, about 75% of civil construction on the project had been completed. By June 2015, 70% of the tower was complete, with 83 floors having been built. Apartments at World One start at for a 3BHK. The Lodha Group opened bookings for apartments at World One on 29 November 2011. When the first round of bookings closed on 14 December 2014, Lodha had received worth of bookings, at an approximate rate of over – per sq ft. The tower is composed of 3 and 4 BHK apartments. Lodha began offering apartments at World One for sale in London in February 2015. The company hired London estate agent, Wetherell Estates, to market and sell homes in the tower. Lodha particularly hoped to target high net worth Indians living in Mayfair, London. HDFC Property Fund invested 500 crore to acquire a 10% stake in the World Towers project in 2010. The firm exited the project in October 2016, earning a return of triple their investment. In September 2016, Piramal Fund Management Pvt. Ltd invested 2,320 crore in the World Towers project. The developer failed to obtain approval from Airports Authority of India for height in 2010 and height in 2015, so as of 2018 World One still has approval for height only.
World View and World Crest
There are 2 other towers under this project:
World View
The World View is an 82-floor residential tower with a height of 291 metres. The construction of building has begun.
World Crest
The World Crest is a 60 floor residential tower with a height of 223 metres. Construction on the tower began in 2011, and was completed in 2017.
Controversy
Several construction projects in Mumbai by The Lodha Group currently face considerable public ire on grounds of questionable construction practices, public safety, and misrepresentation of the areas being sold to customers. The Lodha Group has tried to fight this through legal gag orders and defamation policies on digital platforms, but has found only limited success.
