Eldeco’s Terra Grande expands luxury mountain-home portfolio, plans 100+ villas in Himachal, Uttarakhand

Terra Grande, the luxury vacation and mountain-home vertical of Eldeco Group, is expanding its portfolio of high-end residences in the hills, with more than 100 villas in the pipeline across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Launched around four years ago as a separate vertical within Eldeco, Terra Grande caters to a segment distinct from its parent’s traditional housing business. While Eldeco largely focuses on upper-middle-income and premium homes in the ₹2-5 crore range, Terra Grande targets ultra-high-net-worth buyers looking for homes priced at ₹8 crore and above in scenic, non-urban locations.

“We are not chasing scale. We are being selective about the locations,” said Amar Kapoor, Founder and CEO of Terra Grande, in an interview with Fortune India.

Terra Grande is a subsidiary of Eldeco Group, whose businesses include Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd (EHIL), a BSE-listed company, and Eldeco Infrastructure and Properties Ltd (EIPL), incorporated in 2000.

Building a portfolio in the hills

The company has more than 60 acres of projects coming up across Himachal Pradesh, with over 100 villas signed up for development and yet to be launched.

Its upcoming portfolio includes a 2.5-acre luxury development in Kalth, Solan; an 8.5-acre wellness-focused villa community near Rishikesh; and a 12-acre luxury second-home project in Sirmaur. These are being developed alongside ongoing projects in Sirmaur, spread across 29 acres, and Narendra Nagar near Rishikesh, spanning 12.5 acres.

Together, the five projects cover around 61.5 acres and will comprise more than 100 luxury residences.

In Sirmaur, phase I of Terra Grande’s 29-acre Kasauli Hills development has already been sold. The first phase spans 16 acres and comprises 39 luxury villas priced between ₹8 crore and ₹10 crore. The project has attracted demand from affluent families across North India.

The company is also evaluating locations in Alibaug, Goa, other parts of Himachal Pradesh and potentially southern India. Its location strategy remains selective, with proximity to an airport, elevation, scenic surroundings and accessibility from a major city among the key considerations.

Properties need to be within a maximum driving distance of around six hours from a major city, Kapoor said.

Luxury beyond amenities

Terra Grande’s proposition is built around what Kapoor describes as a “lifestyle-first sort of community”.

“We don’t think of ourselves as a normal real estate developer. We are basically lifestyle-first sort of community,” he said.

The idea is to move away from a conventional definition of luxury housing, where the emphasis is often on imported fixtures, elaborate clubhouses and a long list of amenities.

“Luxury is view, nature and time spent with family,” said Kapoor.

The homes are positioned less as investment products and more as long-term personal spaces. “It’s an emotional buy for a customer. It is not a financial buy,” he said.

The company prefers to view them as homes rather than simply second homes, reflecting its belief that buyers are looking for places where they can spend meaningful time with family rather than hold another real estate asset.

Demand for luxury homes gets a post-Covid boost

The demand for such homes has also been shaped by a broader change in how affluent buyers view their living spaces.

Kapoor said the pandemic accelerated a shift towards spending more time in comfortable, spacious environments, while rising wealth creation has expanded the pool of potential buyers. “Demand is particularly strong among affluent families looking for alternatives to urban living.”

Around 85-90% of Terra Grande’s buyers come from Delhi-NCR, making Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand natural extensions of its target market, he said.

Cleaner air, access to nature and the ability to spend extended periods away from crowded cities have also become more important considerations, particularly for families with children and older buyers.

“Good air quality is a part of life,” Kapoor said, adding that airport connectivity allows buyers to remain within reach of Delhi when work requires them to return.