Refurbishment rates by Mumbai micro-market
| Location | Refresh | Light refurb | Medium refurb | Deep refurb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BKC | ₹930 – 1,260 | ₹1,260 – 1,690 | ₹1,690 – 2,080 | ₹2,080 – 2,290 |
| Lower Parel, Worli | ₹850 – 1,150 | ₹1,150 – 1,580 | ₹1,580 – 1,910 | ₹1,910 – 2,190 |
| Andheri East, MIDC, SEEPZ | ₹660 – 900 | ₹900 – 1,260 | ₹1,260 – 1,530 | ₹1,530 – 1,800 |
| Powai, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg | ₹710 – 960 | ₹960 – 1,340 | ₹1,340 – 1,640 | ₹1,640 – 1,910 |
| Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali | ₹660 – 870 | ₹870 – 1,230 | ₹1,230 – 1,500 | ₹1,500 – 1,750 |
| Thane, Navi Mumbai, Airoli | ₹600 – 790 | ₹790 – 1,120 | ₹1,120 – 1,390 | ₹1,390 – 1,640 |
Excluding 18% GST, IT hardware and landlord charges. Assumes occupied-floor delivery with night working where the building requires it. A 12,000 sq ft medium refurbishment in Andheri East therefore runs roughly ₹1.5–₹1.8 crore. The bands are held against Mumbai workplace projects we have completed and billed, at October 2026 prices.
What the building will require before you start
A refurbishment in a Grade-A Mumbai tower is governed by the same fit-out manual as a new fit-out, and landlords are often stricter about refurbishment because the floor is occupied and the common areas are in daily use.
- Drawing submission and approval, two to four weeks. Architectural, electrical, HVAC modification, fire and sprinkler layouts, each with its own review. We submit during detailed design so the cycle runs in parallel.
- Mandated vendors. Sprinkler head relocation, fire detection modification and HVAC tie-ins must generally go through the building's nominated agencies at their rates. Priced in the BOQ from the start.
- Interest-free refurbishment deposit, commonly ₹2–₹15 lakh depending on floor plate and building grade, refundable on clean handover.
- Working hours. In an occupied tower, noisy and dusty work is confined to roughly 8pm to 6am on weekdays, with wider windows at weekends.
- Material movement through the service lift on booked slots, with debris out on the same route. Passenger lifts are never available for this.
- Hot work permits for any welding or cutting, issued per shift, with a fire watch. Grade-A buildings enforce this seriously.
In an occupied BKC tower the constraint is not what you build. It is that at 6am the floor has to look like nothing happened, whatever state the work is in.
Greenbox commercial team
Design and build under one accountable roof
How we run a night-shift refurbishment
- Zoning plan agreed with the clientThree to five zones, sized so people can be absorbed into spare desks rather than a temporary office. Agreed with HR and facilities before it is agreed with us.
- Pilot zone firstOne zone completed end to end. It proves the specification, gives the client something to react to, and becomes swing space for the next group.
- Nightly set-up and strike-downBarriers and floor protection go up at 8pm and come down before 6am. Every shift ends with the floor clean and the common corridor spotless.
- Noisy work in the first half of the shiftCore cutting and demolition between 8pm and 1am, quiet trades after, so the building's own night staff and any late workers are least affected.
- Rolling snag per zoneEach zone is snagged and closed before the next begins. A snag list carried to the end of a phased project never gets closed.
- IT cutover out of hoursStructured cabling migrated zone by zone with a tested cutover on a Friday night, never a floor-wide switch.
Programme and cost of working at night
| Factor | Daytime, vacated floor | Night shift, occupied floor |
|---|---|---|
| Labour rate | Baseline | +15 – 25% |
| Productive hours per shift | 8 – 9 | 6 – 7 after set-up and strike-down |
| Programme for 12,000 sq ft medium refurb | 7 – 9 weeks | 11 – 14 weeks |
| Supervision | One site manager | Site manager plus a night supervisor |
| Client cost avoided | — | Temporary office rent and two moves |
| Lost business days | Full relocation required | Zero |
For most Mumbai occupiers the night-shift premium is smaller than the cost of temporary space plus two relocations, which is why phased refurbishment is usually the cheaper route overall.
Mumbai-specific things that catch people out
- Monsoon and the façade. Any work touching external glazing, sealant or a terrace is scheduled outside mid-June to late September. A failed façade seal in a BKC tower in July is a serious problem for the floors below.
- Humidity during finishes. Site humidity above 75% extends paint and PU drying times. In an eight-hour night shift with a hard 6am deadline, that changes what can be attempted in one night.
- Salt air on sea-facing floors. Worli, Nariman Point and parts of BKC. Exposed external hardware, balcony fixings and AC condenser housings move to SS 316 or marine-grade coating.
- Older Andheri MIDC and SEEPZ stock. Lower slab heights, ageing electrical distribution and ceiling voids already full of abandoned cable. We survey the void before promising a ceiling line.
- Deposit return depends on the corridor. Landlords judge a refurbishment contractor on the common areas. Nightly cleaning of the lift lobby and service corridor is not housekeeping, it is how the deposit comes back.
Eleven weeks of night work and the only way we knew it was happening was that a new zone opened every fortnight. The corridor was cleaner than before we started.
They flagged that the ceiling void was full of dead cable from two previous tenants and cleared it while it was open. Nobody else who quoted had even looked up.
Pilot zone first was the right call. We changed the desk layout after seeing it, before it was rolled out to the other four zones.
Refurbishment fundamentals
For asset reuse, phasing method, services upgrades and reinstatement clauses that apply to any Indian office, see our office renovation services overview.
Selected work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an office renovation cost in Mumbai?+
₹600–₹1,260 per sq ft for a refresh, ₹790–₹1,690 for a light refurbishment, ₹1,120–₹2,080 for a medium refurbishment and ₹1,390–₹2,290 for a deep strip-back, by micro-market. BKC and Lower Parel sit at the top of each band; Thane, Navi Mumbai and Airoli at the bottom. Excluding 18% GST.
Can you refurbish our office while we keep working?+
Yes, and in Mumbai it is usually the cheaper route. We zone the floor into three to five areas, complete a pilot zone to create swing space, and work nights from about 8pm to 6am with full set-up and strike-down each shift. The night premium is typically less than temporary office rent plus two relocations.
What premium does night working carry?+
Fifteen to twenty-five per cent on labour, plus a shorter effective shift — six to seven productive hours instead of eight or nine, because barriers go up and come down every night. A 12,000 sq ft medium refurbishment that takes seven to nine weeks on a vacated floor takes eleven to fourteen weeks at night.
Do Mumbai landlords mandate specific vendors for refurbishment?+
Frequently, particularly in BKC and Lower Parel Grade-A towers, for sprinkler relocation, fire detection modification and HVAC tie-ins. They charge building-set rates. We confirm the mandated list during feasibility and carry it in the BOQ so it never appears later as a variation.
How long does landlord approval take for a refurbishment?+
Two to four weeks from submission, sometimes longer in Grade-A buildings where architectural, electrical, HVAC, fire and sprinkler drawings each go to a different consultant. We submit during detailed design so approval runs in parallel rather than delaying the first night shift.