Mount Road’s Tall LIC Tower Will Be Dwarfed, By 25 Storeyed Office Block, Exploiting New FSI Rules On TVS Plot

Chennai is set to soar high. The old man on Mount Road, the 13-storey LIC Building, for long the only noticeably tall landmark in an otherwise vertically challenged city used to growing sideways rather than upwards, will soon get company. A 25-storey tower block of offices is coming up on the old TVS plot. Whether vertical growth is defined as progress would depend on the point of view. But, with a change in government, came a significant FSI change – from 3.5 to 5. You can think what you will of how such changes come about, the most obvious being the use of financial clout by the builders’ lobby.  The fact is the Brigade group of Bangalore, with its political connections and heft, will be the first to take advantage of the higher FSI with a landmark building that will dwarf the nearby LIC structure, old Chennai citizens described using the Tamil phrase – Heightu da! A lot of changes are also on the cards for what used to be the centre of the city’s business district, with many old firms likely to sell out to builders in the CBD. TVS’ R Dinesh, who inherited the old HQ of the reputed TVS group on Mount Road along with the Honda dealership, was the first to cash in on the new FSI.