Housing stock in Sion
Sion has three distinct pieces. The rehabilitation colonies — PMGP, Sion Koliwada, Pratiksha Nagar — hold thousands of very small flats. The Gandhi Market side is dense commercial with housing above it. And Sion Hill to the east is a quieter, higher, more expensive residential pocket that shares almost nothing with the other two.
PMGP and Koliwada colonies
1970s rehabilitation housing, ground-plus-four, 225–450 sq ft carpet, load-bearing construction, no lifts and original services.
Pratiksha Nagar and the eastern colonies
Similar era, slightly larger, with a mix of original and redeveloped blocks.
Gandhi Market and the station side
Dense mixed-use, commercial ground floors, narrow lanes and real access difficulty.
Sion Hill and the eastern slope
Larger, older private buildings and bungalow plots on higher ground. Dry, quiet and the top of the local band.
What you will pay in Sion
Interior work in Sion is priced per square foot of carpet area: ₹1,760 essential, ₹2,370 premium, ₹3,100 luxury. Carpet, not built-up and not RERA carpet plus balcony.
| Home | Usual carpet band | Essential ₹1,760/sq ft | Premium ₹2,370/sq ft | Luxury ₹3,100/sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1RK (colony) | 225–320 sq ft | ₹4.0 – 5.6 L | ₹5.3 – 7.6 L | ₹7.0 – 9.9 L |
| 1BHK (colony) | 340–450 sq ft | ₹6.0 – 7.9 L | ₹8.1 – 10.7 L | ₹10.5 – 13.9 L |
| 2BHK | 560–780 sq ft | ₹9.9 – 13.7 L | ₹13.3 – 18.5 L | ₹17.4 – 24.2 L |
| 3BHK (Sion Hill) | 1,000–1,400 sq ft | ₹17.6 – 24.6 L | ₹23.7 – 33.2 L | ₹31.0 – 43.4 L |
Exclusive of 18% GST. Loose furniture, appliances and any structural work are separate lines. Try your own numbers in the interior cost calculator.
A 225–320 sq ft colony flat costs more per square foot than the rate band suggests, because the kitchen and bathroom carry fixed costs whatever the floor area. We quote those two rooms as items rather than by area, so a small flat's bill reads honestly instead of looking like a bargain that later is not one.
Design and build under one accountable roof in Sion
The Sion realities behind the quotation
- Sion circle floods every monsoon. The low-lying pockets around the junction take water reliably. Ground and first floors get joinery on a plinth, sockets at 550 mm and no board product below knee height.
- Colony flats are load-bearing. The PMGP and Koliwada blocks carry load on internal walls. The design works vertically and through built-in furniture, not by removing partitions.
- Volume, not area, is the design currency. With 225 to 450 sq ft to work with, the loft band, the full-height storage and the bed-with-drawers are what make the flat livable. We spend the budget there and keep the surfaces plain.
- Gandhi Market access is genuinely hard. Narrow lanes, constant commercial loading, and vehicles that cannot turn. Deliveries are small, early and marshalled.
- Sion Hill is a different market. Higher ground, no flooding, larger flats and bungalow plots. We quote it as its own thing rather than averaging it into the colony rate.
Getting labour and material into Sion
Access dictates the programme here more than the scope does. These are the constraints we price against.
| Constraint | The reality here | How we plan for it |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding | Sion circle and the low pockets flood reliably each monsoon | Raised detailing below the second floor; no ground-level storage in season |
| Structure | Load-bearing internal walls in the colonies | No partition removal; layout worked vertically instead |
| Market access | Gandhi Market lanes with constant commercial loading | Small early-morning loads with a marshal |
| Lifts | No lifts in the ground-plus-four colony blocks | Knock-down modules sized to the stair turn |
Material choices that suit Sion
Specification follows the local environment and the building rules, not a house style.
| Element | What we specify | Why, here |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Full-height units with a proper loft band and a fixed ladder | Volume is the only resource a 300 sq ft flat has |
| Beds | Storage beds with gas-lift or drawer bases as standard | Recovers the largest single footprint in the flat |
| Joinery base | 120 mm plinth below the second floor near the junction | Water stands after heavy rain around Sion circle |
| Sockets | 550 mm minimum on ground and first floors | Above the recorded flood line in the low pockets |
| Surfaces | Plain matte laminate; no veneer in colony flats | The money belongs in volume, not in surface |
Programme for a Sion project
- Week 0 — survey, structure, flood historyMeasure, identify the load-bearing walls, and ask the building how high the water came. Both answers shape the drawings.
- Weeks 1–2 — design and BOQLayouts drawn in three dimensions because that is where the space is, with the kitchen and bathroom priced as items.
- Weeks 3–4 — strip-out and first fixMinimal demolition, loft removal and rebuild, electrical at the revised heights and plumbing.
- Weeks 5–8 — joineryKnock-down modules up the stair and assembled in the flat.
- Weeks 9–10 — finishes and handoverPaint, hardware, lighting, clean and snagging.
What clients here say
Three hundred and sixty square feet with a loft, a storage bed and a full kitchen. We have not thrown anything away and there is still floor to walk on.
The water came into the compound in July and the kitchen was untouched. The plinth was the whole point and they insisted on it.
Sion's colony flats are the hardest design problem in this list and the least glamorous. They are also the ones where good work makes the biggest difference to how somebody lives.
Work we do across Sion
Design and build
A single team from first drawing to handover.
→Kitchens
BWP boxes, quartz or granite counters, soft-close throughout.
→Bedrooms and storage
Wardrobes, dressers, beds and study joinery.
→Whole-flat renovation
Strip-out, services, joinery, finishes, snagging.
→
Selected work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to do up a Sion colony flat?+
₹1,760–₹3,100 per sq ft of carpet. A 225–320 sq ft 1RK is ₹4.0–5.6 lakh at an essential finish and ₹5.7–8.2 lakh at luxury, ex-GST. We quote the kitchen and bathroom as items rather than by area, because their cost is fixed regardless of how small the flat is.
How do you make a 300 sq ft flat work?+
Vertically. A loft band at 2.1 m with proper decking and a fixed ladder, full-height storage everywhere it fits, a storage bed with a gas-lift or drawer base, and the kitchen designed as a tall run rather than a counter. We keep the surfaces plain and put the entire budget into volume, because that is what the flat is short of.
Can I remove a wall in a PMGP colony flat?+
No. These are load-bearing blocks and the internal walls hold the floor above. We can widen a doorway with a proper lintel if a structural consultant agrees, but the open-plan layout that gets asked for is not available in this stock and anyone offering it should be treated with suspicion.
How high do you raise joinery near Sion circle?+
120 mm on ground and first floors, with sockets at 550 mm and no board product below knee height. The junction floods reliably every monsoon and the low pockets around it hold water for hours. It is a small detail at design stage and an expensive one to retrofit.
Is Sion Hill priced the same as the colonies?+
No. Sion Hill is higher ground with larger, older private buildings and bungalow plots, no flood exposure and a very different finish expectation. It sits at the top of the band, around ₹2,670 to ₹3,100 per sq ft, while colony work clusters near the bottom.