Chennai office demand concentrates on a handful of belts. OMR and Sholinganallur lead for IT and GCC campuses and SEZ office; Guindy and the Mount Road CBD carry Grade-A headquarters and BFSI; and Ambattur, Porur and the Mount-Poonamallee Road corridor offer cost-efficient back-office space. Each belt differs on rent, grade, fit-out readiness and commute.
Indicative Grade-A rents span roughly ₹75 to ₹122 per sq.ft per month depending on the sub-market and SEZ status. The corridor decision should follow your headcount, budget, SEZ need and the talent catchment you are hiring from, not the other way round.
On a tenant-representation mandate, the advisor acts only for the occupier, so there is no split loyalty in the negotiation. The terms that matter over a lease life are rent and escalation caps, the rent-free period for fit-out, lock-in and exit clauses, and who carries which obligations.
These are argued harder, and land better, when the same team that runs the diligence also runs the negotiation.
SEZ eligibility changes a building's tax, fit-out and compliance profile, so it should be confirmed before a tower is shortlisted, not assumed from its address. A building's SEZ status is a matter of record, and we verify it as part of diligence.
A corridor's reputation does not guarantee a clean building. Before a multi-year lease is signed, the specific tower's title, approvals, SEZ status and any litigation on the asset should be verified at source. That turns a corridor-level decision into a verified, building-level one.