Chennai's second oldest tower being razed

CHENNAI: The landmark fifty-year-old New Tower Block at Nandanam - the second oldest residential tower in the city - is set to vanish into the pages of history with the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) having begun razing it to make way for a new apartment complex. The 10-storey tower was also the second tallest structure in the city after the LIC building at the time of its inauguration in 1968 and even featured in several Tamil movies.
TNHB officials said plans are afoot to build multiple blocks comprising 150 apartments in all. "We have received tenders for models for the new housing project that will come up across an area of one acre. The space occupied by a guesthouse on the premises would also be utilised after pulling it down," an official told TOI. The proposed flats would be sold to the public under the self-financing scheme.
Officials said tenants were asked to vacate after a report by Anna University three years ago found that the structure was not fit for occupancy. The exterior wall of the dilapidated building is crumbling with cracks being visible. The demolition began on Friday with the windows, doors and walls of flats on the ninth floor being removed. While the tower has 60 flats, only 20 are still occupied by tenants who pay a paltry rent of between Rs. 3750 and Rs. 5000 for apartments measuring at least 750 square feet each in a posh neighbourhood.
Though the building was meant for members of the general public, it turned into a hub for senior civil servants of the state government as it was located in the vicinity of Boat Club. Later, subsequent regimes offered accommodation here for their appointees to various boards and corporations of the state government.
The tower was one of the first residential complexes in Chennai to have elevators. "There were few multistoried buildings in the city half a century ago and it was a rarity for apartments to have elevators. The New Tower Block was one such building," said former president of Builders Association of India R Radhakrishnan. The housing complex also had staff quarters for the lift operator, security guard and plumber.
TNHB has issued notices to the remaining occupants to vacate the building within 15 days. Meanwhile, the tenants have approached the government seeking relocation in other residential complexes of the state-owned housing department. They are likely to approach the Madras high court on Monday seeking a stay on eviction, a tenant said.