Cognizant Technology Solutions India has sold its India headquarters in Chennai to Bagmane Constructions for ₹612 crore, JLL's Siva Krishnan, Senior Managing Director (Chennai & Coimbatore), Head - Residential Services, told HT.com.
The property is located in Thoraipakkam on Chennai's Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), one of the city's key IT corridors, JLL, which brokered the deal, confirmed.
The property spans 5.9 lakh sq ft or 13.6 acres, according to the encumbrance certificate reviewed by HT.com.
"The property will be redeveloped into an office park with a potential development of about 3 million sq ft. This will be one of the largest deals in the Zone 2 region of OMR," Krishnan added.
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Zone 2 of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), also known as Rajiv Gandhi Salai, extends from Sholinganallur to Kelambakkam and serves as a key part of Chennai's IT corridor, while Zone 1 stretches from Madhya Kailash Temple to Sholinganallur.
{{/usCountry}}Zone 2 of Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), also known as Rajiv Gandhi Salai, extends from Sholinganallur to Kelambakkam and serves as a key part of Chennai's IT corridor, while Zone 1 stretches from Madhya Kailash Temple to Sholinganallur.
{{/usCountry}}Among the two zones along the OMR stretch, Krishnan noted that Zone 1, with a vacancy rate of around 4-5%, remains a key hub in the IT corridor. However, due to limited land availability, the focus has increasingly shifted to Zone 2, where the newly acquired property is situated.
"The deal marks Bagmane's foray into Chennai's commercial real estate market while also highlighting the growing interest in Zone 2 of the OMR region, driven by metro connectivity," Krishnan said.
Email queries sent to Cognizant and Bagmane did not receive a response. The copy will be updated if a response is received.
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Chennai's office absorption to touch 8.5-9 million sq ft by 2025, experts say
Chennai’s commercial real estate market has seen a 75-fold growth over the past 25 years, reaching 76.5 million square feet by the first half of 2024 from 0.5 - 1 million square feet in 1999, according to a report released by property consultancy JLL.
Chennai today commands 12% of India's overall GCC market share, with a particularly strong foothold in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, where it claims 15% of the national footprint, per the report. The report noted that 60% of the technology operations of Fortune-listed BFSI companies have chosen Tamil Nadu as their base.
"Office absorption in Chennai ranged between 3.8 to 4 million sq ft until 2022. However, post-COVID in 2023, office leasing surged to 11.5 million sq ft. This year, we expect Chennai’s office absorption to reach 8.5 to 9 million sq ft," Krishnan added.