Paranjape Athashri

Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Ltd., founded by two brothers, Shrikant and Shashank Paranjape is a name to reckon with, for real estate projects that have created new benchmarks. Their journey of innovation is rooted in a rock-solid reputation.

Every industry is transformed by the ingenuity of its pioneers, known for introducing new concepts in a mature market.

Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Ltd. is a trusted brand in the Pune realty market, has not just given the City of Peshwas some of its iconic projects but has also expanded to other cities. The real estate behemoth, set up by brothers Shrikant Paranjape (Chairman) and Shashank Paranjape (Managing Director) is backed by a strong business legacy and an ability to portend the future. Paranjape Schemes is fabled for having set up several state-of-art projects that have proved to be game-changers for India’s realty industry, such as a senior citizens’ condominium in Pune, the first-of-its kind in the country that added an entirely new segment to the realty landscape. 

“Housing is everyman’s dream. We are aware that realty customers not only invest money, but even make an emotional investment,” says Shashank. They credit their success to a strict code of ethics, building robust relationships, and delivering a quality product. 

Creating a Real Estate Brand

The brothers joined hands in 1987 to set up a construction business in Pune, a vibrant and fast-growing city that was soon to become a major IT hub. The city saw migration from other parts of India, a fact that helped the real estate segment leverage its potential. 

Interestingly, the brothers come from an entrepreneurial family that had interests in real estate, which were fuelled by the early inter-city migration trend in Mumbai. Their grandfather, an entrepreneur, successfully set up and ran a business of silver utensils in the late 1930s. That’s also when he began plotting layouts, says Shashank. “He owned a huge part of land in Vile Parle (East). Mumbai was experiencing a migration trend, from prime localities such as Dadar and Girgaon to new suburbs such as Vile Parle.” 

While their grandfather used the opportunity to plot layouts, their eldest uncle, the late Baburao Paranjape, was considered a pioneer in establishing transparency norms for cooperative housing societies. “Today, we are still trying to live up to that reputation,” he adds.

The Journey from Real Estate to Construction

Effectively, the third generation of the Paranjape Schemes is associated with the realty business; now, they have forayed into hardcore construction business, which, says Shashank, “It was by sheer coincidence. I wanted to start my business so I decided to set up a chemical factory with the help of a gentleman, from whom I learnt the technical knowhow. But, I was cheated in that business, learnt a few lessons, and ensured that the reigns of the business remained in my hands. Foray into construction was comparatively smoother.”

Paranjape Schemes started out with one building and today has townships, gated communities, premium housing and affordable housing spread across cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolhapur, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Nashik, Vadodara and Coimbatore. Along the way, the joy they have experienced while introducing new formats and concepts to Pune’s realty market has kept them going. In an 11-storeyed tower in Kothrud, their first high-rise, the idea to add a swimming pool was rubbished by many who believed it would not appeal to conservative buyers. Yet, it was booked within two months. “We have incorporated technology to blend eastern and western lifestyles in our elite schemes. 

Paranjape Schemes has bagged several prestigious awards for company, projects as well as on individual level. Some of them include, ‘India’s Top Inno visionary Builders’ award, ‘Best Realtor’, ‘Best Township Project of India’ award for ‘Blue Ridge’ and ‘Senior Citizen Housing Project of the year’ for Athashri, ‘Young Achiever of the Year’ award for Amit Paranjape, 'Icon of Pune' award for Mr. Shashank Paranjape and so on.  

Paranjape Schemes’ Athashri, first condominium in Pashan, introduced senior citizens’ complexes to India in 2001 and at the moment, around 1500 senior citizen are benefitting from a life in a safer environment and access to infrastructure needed to lead a good life. Apart from Pune, Athashri project are located in Banglore, Vadodara and California.  

Speaking about their unique initiative, Shashank Parajape Said, “Our organization has always been focused towards customer delight. We have a come up with a concept called the “The Happiness Network” which is a platform created for all the residents of the projects that we have developed to come together and participate / flaunt their talent in dance, drama, singing, sports etc. We arrange various competitions and tournaments under this platform to accentuate the talent amongst our customers and providing them an avenue to present themselves. “Ganaranga”, “Anandghan”, “Paranjape Schemes Premier League”, “Paranjape Super  League” & “Paranjape Dandiya Raas” are some of these programs conducted every year. Through our newsletter under the Happiness Network umbrella we also encourage our customers to author articles and share their opinion and views on varied subjects. This newsletter is also an avenue for our customers to market their product or business. The main objective of the “Happiness Network” is to make our customers successful in whatever they do thereby creating vibrant communities. This is how we also do not loose contact with our old customers and always are in touch with them. Hence, our USP is creating cohesive and vibrant communities.” 

“This makes us interact with our all old and new societies which nobody else is doing as a developer” he proudly adds.  

The Future of Realty

The real estate sector is going through a paradigm shift, fuelled by a shift in buyers’ aspirations.  “The realty clientele today is younger, well-travelled and has global exposure.” Talking about trends shaping the real estate industry, Shashank singles out technology as a big game-changer. “Automated houses and online bookings are a massive hit.” 

The focus of Paranjape Schemes is also on ‘housing for all’. “Our future projects include affordable, high-end complexes, and senior citizen housing.” The group is looking at working on futuristic townships in Pune. “Besides amenities, infrastructure is of utmost importance in townships,” says Shashank. They are also looking at making a mark in Mumbai’s redevelopment market, besides floating more schemes in Tier-III cities and expanding internationally with Athashri projects in the US. The brothers plan to take Athashri, their senior citizen condominium project, to five more Indian cities.

Team & company culture

The work culture in the organization is absolutely liberal, inclusive and adoptive. We believe in equality of gender and so have women employees even in our engineering department. Our employees are young and so maintain a friendly atmosphere amongst their peers. The seniors are also good listeners and accommodative and hence we have seen a very low rate of attrition in the last 30 years compared to other counterparts in the industry. This make us feel proud and again become our USP as an employer.

Giving Back

Paranjape Schemes is looking at investing more in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects. “Through Athashri Foundation, we are making lives better for senior citizen.” The group is also associated with Swapnabhumi Trust in the area of women empowerment and have entered the field of education with the sole motto of ensuring that good education is accessible to the middle class. 

As a CSR, we are promoting assisted living, through ‘Aastha’. Aastha is assisted Living – for elderly people who need personal care and assistance in daily living but who don’t need hospitalisation. We have integrated rural development project at village Tamhini as well through Athashri Foundation.” Shashank mentions. 

The Landmark Projects

Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Ltd. has constructed 184 project spread across 20 million sq.ft area. Around 32 projects are under construction at various locations in India.

Their landmark projects include The Blue Ridge Township, spread over 138 acres (3000+ apartments and an SEZ, consisting of 3 million sq.ft catering to the IT companies such as Cisco and Accenture), Forest Trails, 170 acre township having bunglows, towers, school, Lifestyle club having state of the art amenities, stud farm, fire station and so on. Woodland (800+ apartments in Kothrud), Athashri (a senior citizens’ housing project in Pune Bangalore and US) and Intelligentia IT Park (Erandwane in Pune). 

Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Ltd is one of the renowned & respected real estate brands in India.