Vishwanath MahadeshwarTHE NEW mayor’s bungalow, which will come up in a plot near Shivaji Park in Dadar, will be a green and sustainable building. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to construct the bungalow on a 4,300-sqm plot near Shivaji Park.
In addition to being in sync with the environment, the bungalow will have a unique architecture. “Either it will be an art deco building, like the ones along Marine Drive, or it will be a Victorian and Gothic structure like the civic body headquarters. The architects have been asked to follow a theme and also showcase urban architecture,” a senior civic official said.
The plot has coconut trees in the backyard, which will be preserved and will be an integral part of the design. The architects and planners chosen for the project have been asked to submit a detailed plan for the bungalow by this month after municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta suggested that the earlier plan be reworked. “The earlier plan lacked vision and adaptability. The residence of the first citizen of Mumbai needs to be forward-looking,” another civic official said.
The new bungalow will replace the 40-year-old municipal gymkhana (Municipal Kreeda Bhavan), which currently sits on the chosen plot. The plot was marked for a gymkhana on the Development Plan (DP). However, the state government changed it to municipal housing in the revised DP to make way for the bungalow in January.
Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar moved out of the iconic Shivaji Park bungalow in Dadar and moved into a bungalow located within the Veermata Jijabai Bhonsle Udyan and Zoo, popularly known as Byculla zoo, last month. The Dadar bungalow, which was bought by the BMC in 1962, is being converted into a memorial to late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
