Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metro Rail brought in a new concept of leasing co-working spaces in 49 metro stations across the city. Termed ‘Office Bubbles,’ the concept is going to be one of its kind ever explored in Indian Metro Rail history.
The metro rail aims to fulfill the surging demand for co-working spaces and locational flexibility of office spaces in Hyderabad with the Office Bubbles under its Transit-oriented Development (ToD).
Currently, ToD offers around 18.5 million sqft of space for work, shopping, leisure, entertainment, and healthcare along with parking and circulation area.
According to a press note from the LTMRHL, the metro rail will be focusing on IT companies and would be using the high-quality transit-oriented spaces in the un-paid (pre-ticketing) areas on the concourse level of its stations.
Close to 0.4 million sqft would be dedicated to Office Bubbles for lease, encompassing 1750 sqft of 2 units across 49 typical metro stations and 5,000-30,000 sqft of spaces at 8 non-typical metro stations.
“One can expect spaces to be offered in bare shell, warm shell, and plug & play formats depending on the clients’ requirements,” the press note informed.
KVB Reddy, MD, and CEO of L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited said, “We are proud to offer ‘Office Bubbles’ as first of its kind concept being rolled out in the Indian urban transportation sector. This concept is not only a natural and logical choice for start-ups but also large corporations who are progressing towards co-working spaces owing to the agility and flexibility it offers.”
The Office Bubbles concept would offer flexible workspace, predominantly lower operational costs, and secured spaces in 57 stations across the city with CCTV and Access Control.
Other benefits would involve easy travel for employees by metro rail, available parking spaces, downsized city center offices, and reduced costs.
Leasing trends across the top seven cities in India including Hyderabad clearly reflect the rising proportion of mainstream corporates and established entities from different sectors increasingly opting for co-working spaces.
Further, as the start-up economy expands, there is a growing need for co-working office spaces with elevated standards of amenities to provide better flexibility, low-risk and scalable workspace solutions that provide customised services, which can evolve and adapt to their occupants, the press note said.