Remembering Ballard Estate

THERE’S A BIT of Miss Havisham in Ballard Estate—once a busy, business district, now empty, forlorn and weary. Over the last decade, companies such as Voltas, Abbot India, Bank of Baroda, and Hindustan Construction have moved out, while Reliance Industries, Bombay Dyeing, and Larsen & Toubro have whittled down their presence. Among the larger firms, only Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, and Binani Industries remain. The exodus is reflected in the real estate prices. It’s in downtown Mumbai, but offices are available at Rs 150 a square feet, half of upstart Bandra Kurla rates, according to Sanjay Dutt, CEO (business), of Jones Lang LaSalle, a business-property management company.

Ballard has not lost its architectural beauty. Tall, solid, basaltic, Edwardian buildings in large tree-lined avenues are reminiscent of the era they were built in—between 1914 and 1918, when the British Empire was at its zenith. But, according to a report by the Ballard Estate Welfare Association, street dwellers have taken over its western stretch, as have makeshift tea-stalls and roadside car repair shops. Vinod Juneja, managing director of the Braj Binani Group, says the area needs attention. “Lighting is bad, and waterlogging is a problem during the monsoons.” The Bombay Port Trust (under whose jurisdiction Ballard Estate falls) is unwilling to address the issues because there aren’t too many offices. Juneja adds that his group does business in Dubai, Mauritius, and China, but “there isn’t even a coffee shop” around his global headquarters.

Help may be at hand though. Like other famous precincts such as Harlem in New York and Mission District in San Francisco, Ballard Estate could just attempt a fashionable makeover. At nearby Horniman Circle, Hermès is about to open its first Mumbai outlet. The architecture at Ballard Estate is similar; those high ceilinged buildings are just what designer labels look for. All it requires is a little bit of imagination to save a once iconic business district from dying.