In line with economic development, looking for a posh dwelling is no longer a luxury but a necessity to shy away from the hurly-burly of city life to some sunny locales much like a gated community.
Gated community refers to the term based on which housing industry is on the go, and thriving on it with a series of promises of ensuring healthy living and building a modern community dwelling.
Promises are there in terms of the concept but expectation of the community people falls short of what is supposed to be.
Sensing the pulse of the wealthy, many real estate companies have long been engaged in carrying out their housing projects not only in the capital, but also on the city suburbs and exurbs, which are of course good, and which would give a new look of dwelling, but name-only facilities for dwellers are overshadowing the significance of the term ‘Gated’.
Allegations have it that primary services promised by the realtors during their flat booking are not fulfilled.
The city condominium Japan Garden City, a pioneer of building gated community in Bangladesh, started in 1990s while the realtor started handing their clients flats in 2007 finally after extending the deadline a number of years.
Many apartment owners were not happy with the way their realtors handled issues relating to the housing project. Some alleged that it was in no way a garden city, rather it was a concrete jungle while others said that the buildings were constructed violating the original plan.
Having the tranquility of quiet backwater appears to be absent while a so-called lake is there. The road out there is narrow and the community people struggle to move.
The dwellers complain of expensive utility services inside the housing complex paying Tk 10.5 for per unit electricity price while it is Tk 4.5 in other residential areas.
Japan Garden City Flat Owners’ Welfare Association president SM Shahjahan Ali once said that the realtor did not keep his words.
Gardens, sit-out, gymnasium are among facilities homebuyers aspire for, but an absence of those amenities question the very term of gated community. Had there been garden and play area within the project vicinity, it would have made parents less worried about the safety of their children. Having a gym could allow residents to work out at their convenience as they run short of time due to fast-paced life.
Middle East-based realtor — Rakeen — admitted that they were facing customer trust deficit due to failure of some projects in the past. To bring back clients’ trust, they have demarcated 62 per cent of their 50-bigha land as community space and protected them strictly which is of course a good sign, but it remains to be seen whether they keep their word.
Building a gated community should be a reality in the country context, but the real estate market and buyers’ preference have yet to evolve.
Realtors primarily offer parks, ponds, playgrounds, sidewalks, community centers, school, clubs, kitchen markets, greeneries and community open spaces among other facilities as part of their primary pledge to build a modern gated community, but reality does not go with promises.
To this end, the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh authority always urges customers to be very careful about booking their flats, not by seeing pictures only, but by checking the reality of housing projects.
REHAB, however, says it has no jurisdiction over monitoring the housing companies breaking frequent pledges; it suggests that the city development authority should be entrusted with doing the task of surveillance.
Urban and Regional Planning Department Chairman of BUET Professor Md Musleh Uddin Hasan described real estate business as highly promising that could solve housing problem in the city of two crore people, but he also warned of rogue realtors who could cheat the home buyers.
Planners say a gated community should avail themselves of all primary services within a 15-minute safe walk inside the project. At least 60 per cent space of the community dwelling should be kept open for common use.
A number of housing projects under implementation at Mirpur, Mohamamdpur, Aftabnagar and some other parts of the capital too claimed themselves ‘gated’ but small city projects less than .50-acre do not fall under the definition.
The concept of gated community is like baby stepping in Bangladesh that has gated community in different forms without ensuring essential services for dwellers. If there had been an ideal gated community, it could reduce traffic jam in the city.
Under the Detailed Area Plan, the city development authority encouraged gated community development projects by allowing realtors to build high rises inside their project vicinity, which is not enough for developing such a residential community.
The Institute of Architects Bangladesh, however, has demanded that the city authority come out of such an approach and revise its Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka city.
Besides, in the name of better services and comfortable living, the realtors are said to be charging higher prices for apartments in condominium than those outside condos.
Flat prices in condominium are 30 to 50 per cent higher than the regular flats nearby the projects. Flats sell at between Tk 1.5 crore and Tk 3 crore based on location.
There is another flaw when it comes to building a gated community that is they are on the outskirts of the capital while they should be in the heart of the city in order for reduction of population density.
Finally, a gated community should be a holistic option for keeping life secure, active, and fit. The pandemic culture has incorporated into us the work-from-home culture requiring a working space as well as a specified space for children who want no longer to be caged during such a trying time like Covid-19. These issues should be included in the amenities of developers that could help attract homebuyers and assure them comfortable yet contemporary living in a gated community.
Subrata Kumar Roy is a senior sub-editor of the New Age newspaper.
