BENGALURU: The state Urban Development Department has recently permitted the BMRCL a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 5 for its upcoming Nagawara underground Metro Station. This is the only Metro station of its 131 stations of Phases I and II to have received the green signal for such a high value, a boost to BMRCL’s efforts to increase non-fare revenue.
FAR is a crucial parameter which permits more use of space on an existing property and this ratio is arrived at by dividing the total floor area covered in all the floors of a building divided by
the total area of the land on which it stands.
A highly placed BMRCL source said, “We had requested a high FAR. We have 2.85 acres of space available inside the station to use commercially. We have planned a building with eight floors.” The structure will be built above the Nagawara underground station on the Kalena Agrahara (Gottigere)-Nagawara line and one of its floors will be integrated with the elevated Nagawara Metro Station on the Central Silk Board to KR Puram line (Phase 2A), the source explained.
“This will facilitate a seamless switch from the underground line to those heading to the airport. One floor will be earmarked only for parking,” he said. On average, Metro stations have an average FAR of 3.
BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parwez confirmed the development, saying, “We are open to renting it out for office spaces or another business enterprise. At other stations, the FAR we have is in line with that allotted for the area where the station is situated,” he said.
A UDD official told TNIE, “The high FAR we have offered BMRCL is in line with our move to offer an increased FAR to both state and central government department projects for better utilisation of their existing properties.”