Custodians of the world-renowned heritage structure, the Central Railway (CR), will now welcome both start-ups and established brands to set up shop at The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).
CSMT now stands as the most expensive railway commercial space in the country, with a standard rent of Rs 30,000 per square feet. Of course, this will be carried out without touching the actual heritage structure, known throughout the world for its neo-Gothic architecture and attention to detail.
The CR is trying to get more and more people interested in opening up their establishments in the concourse near the long-distance trains, so as to attract more business, as well as interest in the heritage, walks conducted by the railways. “We want everyone to come here, but right now, there is very little space to sit and sip their favourite coffee, and then walk down the splendid structure that is CSMT,” said one official.
This also comes under the railway’s efforts of ‘station re-development’ but since CSMT is a UNESCO graded heritage structure, the sanctity of the same has to be maintained.
The CSMT structure has statues of gargoyles, peacocks, lions, squirrels, to name a few.
It is designed by F W Stevens, British architect and engineer.
It took Stevens and his men ten years to build the structure, the longest time taken to build anything in that era in the city.
(Source: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
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