Veteran real estate developer and the Founder Chairman of Chennai-based Appaswamy Real Estate limited, S Appaswamy died on Sunday evening due to age-related illnesses. He was 87.
Appaswamy founded the company in 1959 and is known for having introduced the ‘apartment culture’ in Chennai as early as the 1960s. His company is also the pioneer of creating townships in suburban locations of Chennai, targeting those in the upper middle class. Appaswamy Real Estates still continues to be a leader in the residential property segment in Chennai. In the 1990s, the company also ventured into the hospitality sector under the brand ‘The Residency group of hotels’ and owns several business class and boutique hotels across south India.
According to the builders’ website, Appaswamy Real Estates Limited owns at least 12 residential properties and seven commercial properties in Chennai and Coimbatore. The company also owns The Residency Towers in Puducherry, Chennai and Coimbatore, The Residency in Karur and Chennai, The St Regis in Maldives, and The Richmond in Puducherry. The company is now managed by Appaswamy’s son Ravi Appaswamy, who is the managing director, while Ravi’s son Rohit is a member on the company’s board. Appaswamy is survived by his son and four daughters.
In 2016, the company made its hospitality debut in the global stage in Maldives under the brand ‘St Regis’. In 2018, the group signed a Rs 400-crore deal with True Value Homes (TVH), another leading real estate developer in Chennai to develop high-end property for buyers in Kotturpuram. The deal, over a piece of land measuring around 60 grounds, was to be partly funded by Piramal Capital and Housing Finance. Reports said that Appaswamy Real Estates was planning to build an 18-storey building on the land, which was previously owned by SPIC-promoted AC Muthiah’s family. In 2009, TVH had purchased this piece of property in a Rs 120-crore deal.