Lavasa

Lavasa is a new hill town between Pune and Mumbai that is roughly the size of Paris. Lavasa is described as an aspirational lifestyle whose soul is innovation and rejuvenation... a hill town bound by seven hills and valleys, nourished by a 20-km long lake that is fed by 90 streams, and which is connected by 126-km of winding roads. A town of lakeside villas and apartments, educational institutions, international standards hospitality, healthcare, convention and entertainment centres. An unique setting to live, work, learn and play in harmony with the highest environmental standards.This hill town is some 3,000 feet above sea level. Rapid construction is in progress to provide a vibrant lifestyle amidst 25,000 acres of lake and hills with expanses of open greenery and an abundance of material and spiritual choices. Lavasa is being conceived on the premise of designs that evolve with growing needs. Some part of it will be ready next year, but by 2010, the first village and hotels will be in place, and Lavasa will already be a tourist and education city. To this will flock service providers to the hotels and other lifestyle centres, then the educationists, then business people working in Hingewadi nearby, Asia’s largest software town, and engineers, professors, city managers, the workforce that will be Lavasa’s initial population. Lavasa is not a place just for the rich, or a town for retired people to live in peace and calm. Even the workforce here live in housing that is not just a colony, but which fulfils the same needs as everyone else.HCC envisions Lavasa as a complete town in response to modern India’s growing need for planned residences.The development is planned in a manner that leaves over 70 per cent of the land virtually untouched. New Urbanism eclectic designs divide the land into sustainable and manageable regions with each phase of Lavasa being sensitively balanced with the surroundings. As a result, the hill town will have a colourful promenade that brings a dash of Mediterranean elan into the planning. It runs alongside the lake, sporting high-end boutiques and shops, cares and a streetside buzz that will evoke the spirit of the French Riveira. Add recreational diversions such as boating and water sports, golf, cinemas, theatres, marinas, botanical gardens, even meditation centres and places of worship. And where residents will live among various architectural themes ranging from lakeside studio apartments to four bedroom villas with Goan-Mediterranean design. This model creates a sustainable town that reduces the stress on the environment. HCC plans to make Lavasa a hill town with a thriving economy of its own. It is based on hospitality, tourism and leisure on the one hand and education, research and innovating businesses on the other.There will be ITC Fortune Hotels, Novotel and Grand Mercure under Accor Hotels in the hospitality business, international academic institutions like Oxford University for business, plus hospitality, the culinary arts, higher education and management. Lavasa will be like a Japanese car with great after sales service... the customer’s satisfaction is the product