Mumbai: At 96, Fort's Commissariat Building as good as new

If the recently restored Commissariat Building on South Mumbairsquos historic DN Road could speak it would have quite the chronicle to share It was built in 1925 when Bombay was recovering from another pandemicmdashthe deadly Spanish Flu or Bombay Influenza that killed around 18 million across the Indian Subcontinent after the first case was detected in the city in June 1918 Since then Bombay has become Mumbai and it is now battling a new infectious virus the Coronavirus Despite the lockdown the site underwent extensive restoration work thanks to its visionary owners readying it for a grand second inningsCrest on the facade depicting the year in which the building was established PicsBipin KokateldquoIt is painful to see good old buildings in rundown condition due to lack of maintenancemdashthe Bombay Rent Control Act to blame and then getting pulled down Worse the new built stock is devoid of urban design or planning and becomes a burden on the centuryold fragile infrastructurerdquo rues conservation architect Vikas Dilawari about the backstory that plagues SoBorsquos heritage streetscape Thankfully there are positive changes tooldquoThe Commissariat building belonged to my family for decades but due to the Rent Control Act and consequently low rents we were unable to maintain it We received a notice from the BMC stating that the building was unsafe So we decided to restore it foundation upwards and shift our offices thererdquo shares Farokh Commissariat adding that since it was a heritage structure and bore their family name his father Homi was very keen that they restore it to its original glory Farokhrsquos family runs a shipping agency business his grandfather Framjee Commissariat had bought the James Mackintosh Company Private Limited which later passed on to his fatherrsquos uncle Sorabji and later Homi Farokh recalls how in the 1970s when they moved their registered offices from Ballard Estate to this site their business did well ldquoMy father considers it luckyrdquo Work on this corner structure by Dilawari and team began in 2018 and the project also recently bagged the First Prize at the HUDCO Design Awards 202021Before The facade was damaged by rain and had vegetation growthFrom a conservation perspective several sections needed immediate attention its leaking tiled roof and flat terraces vegetation on the external faccedilade the western facade windows had no chajjas overhanging eaves the jack arches were damaged by rain water and interiors had deteriorated ldquoBeing a very tight site with no open space abutting the main arterial road loadingunloading was difficult for the contractor Premier Construction Co It was our good fortune that the ground second and fifth floors belonged to the owner so we could use the vacant area to store materialsrdquo reveals Dilawari The tenants didnrsquot contribute as it was totally ownersponsored The work was planned in phases the slowdown during the three monsoons and lockdown were anxious times since the terrace slab was open Farrokh recalls ldquoIt was a huge project for us as individuals to restore the buildingAfter The building is a clever cover design with the road abutting on three sides It is an axis with Dr DN Road leading to CSMT and has a facade made of Dhrangadhra stone on two sides It also has an arcade inspired by buildings on the opposite side that came up after the Fort walls were demolished in the 1860s and set a new trend including uniform arcade heights building lines and singleuser buildingsObtaining BMC permissions to repair the building was time consuming coaxing tenants to cooperate as well as the building and inhabitantsrsquo safety as work was underway were major concerns All the tenants cooperated the contractor did a fantastic job despite the constraintsrdquoDilawari says that not only has the site got a new lease of life but its property value has also increased ldquoConservation should always be our first choice It is economical to repair easier to maintain old timetested buildings and retaining the old structures helps preserve the original charm of a planned urban design schemerdquo