Factors which are most important when it comes to real estate development are- location, availability of land and connectivity. Kurla has it all and hence it is one of the fastest growing regions in suburban Mumbai.Located 22 km away from Mumbai, Kurla started to come up as an important center for textile industry in the beginning of the 20th century. In the 50s and 60s Kurla became the home to one of India’s largest automobile industries with the establishment of Premier Automobiles. However all these are stories of the past. Most of the cotton mills as well as Premier Automobiles have gone out of business. But as time never stops and land with growth potential is never entirely abandoned, Kurla still remains highly in demand in the eyes of real estate developers. At present property deals in Kurla are running into crores of rupees. There are several reasons for this.Proximity to Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC)The Bandra-Kurla complex (BKC) lies hardly 15 minutes away from Kurla. It is the second central business district of Mumbai and houses quite a number of important institutes such as the National Stock Exchange, NABARD, SEBI, Asian Heart Institute, HQ Of ICICI Bank, American School Of Bombay, Bharat Diamond Bourse, HQ Of IL&FS, Dow Chemicals, Citibank, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Trident Hotel and Fortune 500. It also houses The United States Mumbai Consulate and the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Cricket Ground. These are only a few among the hundreds of companies that have offices here. Therefore it is no wonder that hundreds of people travel to the Bandra-Kurla complex everyday for work. Will these people not prefer to settle near their work place and cut down their travelling time? Definitely they will and hence the demand for residential, commercial, office and entertainment space in Kurla is steadily on the rise.Phoenix Market CityThe trend had been set by the Phoenix Market City, a sprawling mall spread over 4.05 million sq ft. on the Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, the arterial road of Kurla. It has become a landmark for Kurla and has a variety of Indian and international brands such as Converse, Diesel, Hidesign, Hush Puppies, Promod, Vero Moda, FCUK, United Colors of Benetton, Charles and Keith, Lancome, MAC etc. Phoenix Market City also consists of 2.5 lakh sq. ft of office space which is fast selling out and is being purchased by companies like Tuscan Ventures, Raheja Universal And Jagaran Prakashan Group. It is safe to say that in the upcoming years Kurla may just become the new lower parel.ConnectivityAnother big advantage factors for Kurla is its connectivity. It has suburban rail connectivity to central and harbor lines. It is also connected to the western line through Bandra and Santacruz. It is also close to the eastern and western express way. The Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and the Bandra Worli Sea Link had further improved Kurla’s connectivity. It is also close to the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and the new metro rail project to be developed in Mumbai will pass through Kurla.Rental RatesKurla is also becoming popular due to lower rental rates. Whereas in BKS rental rate is around Rs 250 to Rs 300 per sq. ft, in Kurla the same space will be available for Rs 150 per sq ft. With its proximity to BKS, most commercial houses can see no reason not to have their offices in Kurla rather than in the BKS. After all it will be cost effective as well as conveniently located. And though property prices have increased in the past years yet estimates show that the property rate at Kurla is still 30% lower than the western suburbs of Mumbai. The lower rental rate is also encouraging people to settle in Kurla rather than travel from the city everyday. Right now the only luxury residential township spreading over 1.5 million sq ft in Kurla is the Kohinoor City which came up in the land owned by Premier Automobiles. Other residential properties coming up are Orbit Residency Park, Proxima Residency and Runwal Elina only to name a few. Therefore it is apparent that Kurla has immense potential to stand out as a residential real estate area that is ready to be taken advantage of by a far sighted investor.Kurla still has to overcome some of its problems with traffic congestion, poor rain water drainage and traffic parking. But overall it is losing its impression of being a place over run by lower income homes, slums and make-shift shops and is becoming the hotbed for real estate development in suburban Mumbai right now.