Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners has agreed to invest approximately US$175 million to acquire a 50% stake in the initial phase of a master-planned project on the Western Expressway of Mumbai.

The project is being jointly developed by Unitech Ltd. and their local Mumbai Partners (the Western Expressway JV).
The initial phase entails development one million square feet of office space of the total developable area of about 18 million square feet.
Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners and the Western Expressway JV will each contribute 50% of the construction cost.
World renowned architecture firm Skidniore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has been retained to design the master plan for the broader project which envisions a 100+ acre mixed-use development containing office, retail, residential and hotel components. With land availability being the biggest challenge for developers and investors in Mumbai, the ability to control and shape a 100+ acre development presents a rare opportunity.
The JV aims to capitalize on this by creating one of the most high profile developments in Mumbai, with a unified character and management along the lines of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Canary Wharf In London, and Battery Park in New York.
With Mumbai’s commercial and social life being “re-centered” around Worli and Bandra, the Project’s proximity to the established Bandra Kurla Complex business district (BKC), the affluent northern suburbs of Bandra, Khar and Santacruz, as well as the airport, road & public transport links, make it one of the most attractive office locations in Mumbai.