Orchid Centre Office for Rent, Sector 53 Gurgaon

Office space in Orchid Centre is quoted at Rs 90, Rs 120 and Rs 140 per sq ft a month, with maintenance charges of Rs 19 on the highest of those, and no published statement of what is included in them. A 56 per cent spread inside a single tower needs explaining, and the explanation is not the one you would expect.

The furnished unit is the cheapest, which is backwards

In almost every building, furnished space costs more than bare space — the landlord has spent money and wants it back through the rent. Here the fully furnished quote is the lowest on the card, 36 per cent below the top.

That inversion is the thing to ask about. There are only a few honest explanations, and each one changes what you are being offered:

• The fit-out is old and is being cleared rather than valued. You inherit somebody else's partitions and pay to strip them out.
• The position is poorer — a lower floor, an inward aspect, a corner off the lift lobby.
• It is a sublease rather than a direct letting, which changes who your landlord is and what happens when the head lease ends.
• The Rs 140 includes something the Rs 90 does not, such as parking bays or power backup on consumption.

Ask which. A Rs 90 furnished quote in a Grade A tower on Golf Course Road is either a genuine bargain or a signal, and the difference is one question.

Four times the floor plate for the same starting rent

This is the number that makes Orchid Centre worth looking at. One tower on 2.54 acres, about 2,40,000 sq ft in total, with a floor plate of roughly 38,000 sq ft, and units available from 1,000 sq ft up to 20,000 sq ft.

Millennium Plaza starts at the same Rs 90 and offers a quarter of the plate, with nothing above 7,500 sq ft available. If you need a real contiguous floor on a prime corridor, Orchid Centre is one of very few addresses in this research that can actually give you one.

Golf Course Road against its own extension

Sector 53 is on Golf Course Road proper, not the Extension, and the gap between the two is worth seeing in one place:

The Extension trades at roughly 60 to 70 per cent of the Road. And Orchid Centre's top quote, once its Rs 19 maintenance is added, comes to about Rs 159 — which is not near Cyber City, it is inside Cyber City's band. A tenant offered Rs 140 here should know they are being asked institutional-estate money for a single strata tower.

The building, and what the rate should buy

• Grade A, developed by Orchid Infrastructure Developers, a single tower on 2.54 acres.
• About 2,40,000 sq ft in total, which over a 38,000 sq ft plate is roughly six office floors.
• 100 per cent power backup, high-speed lifts, ample parking, professional management.
• Sector 54 Chowk rapid metro is close, which on Golf Course Road is not a given.

At Rs 159 all-in you are entitled to expect all of that to be working on the day you inspect, not promised. Walk the lift lobby, the washrooms and the basement, and ask for the DG capacity per square foot rather than the words "100 per cent backup".

What to settle before you sign

1. Why the furnished unit is the cheapest. Age of fit-out, position, or sublease — get the answer in writing.
2. The maintenance figure for your floor. Rs 19 is the published number on the top quote; confirm it applies to yours.
3. Whether power backup is inside maintenance or billed on consumption, which at this rate is a material sum.
4. Parking bays per thousand square feet, named in the lease.
5. Chargeable versus carpet. On a Rs 159 all-in cost, a loading of 35 rather than 25 per cent moves your real cost per usable foot by about Rs 16.
6. Whether your landlord owns the floor or holds it under a head lease.

Frequently asked questions

What is the office rent in Orchid Centre, Sector 53 Gurgaon?

Three rates are published: Rs 90 per sq ft a month for fully furnished space, Rs 120 for another unit, and Rs 140 as the top quote, which carries maintenance of Rs 19 per sq ft a month. That makes the real cost roughly Rs 109 to Rs 159. Available space runs from about 1,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft.

Why is the furnished space cheaper than the unfurnished?

That is the inversion worth asking about, because normally furnished space costs more than unfurnished, not less - a landlord who has spent money on a fit-out wants it back through the rent. A fully furnished quote 36 per cent below the top of the card usually means one of four things: the fit-out is old and being cleared rather than valued, the position is poorer, it is a sublease rather than a direct letting, or the higher rate includes something the lower one does not, such as parking or power backup. Get the answer in writing before treating Rs 90 as a bargain.

What is the floor plate size, compared with other buildings?

About 38,000 sq ft, in a single tower of roughly 2,40,000 sq ft on 2.54 acres, with units available up to 20,000 sq ft. That is four times the plate at Millennium Plaza off MG Road, which starts at the same Rs 90 and has nothing above 7,500 sq ft available, and well above MVL iPark's 23,333 sq ft off NH-8. If you need a genuine contiguous floor on a prime corridor, very few addresses in this research can supply one.

How does Golf Course Road compare with the Extension?

The Extension trades at roughly 60 to 70 percent of the Road. Splendor Spectrum One at Sector 58 lets at Rs 60 to Rs 80 and Galaxy Magnum at Sector 58 at about Rs 85, against Rs 90 to Rs 140 here at Sector 53. That gradient is the clearest measure of what the Road's address is worth over its extension, and it is built entirely from this site's own research.

Is Rs 140 per sq ft justified?

It is a serious ask. With Rs 19 of maintenance the real cost is about Rs 159, which is not near DLF Cyber City's Rs 135 to Rs 160 band — it is inside it. A tenant paying that is being asked institutional-estate money for a single strata tower, so the specification should be working rather than promised. Walk the lift lobby, the washrooms and the basement, and ask for DG capacity per square foot rather than accepting the phrase 100 per cent power backup.

Who built it, and what is the specification?

The builder is Orchid Infrastructure Developers, and it is a Grade A single tower on 2.54 acres with about 2,40,000 sq ft over a roughly 38,000 sq ft plate. Published features are 100 per cent power backup, high-speed lifts, ample parking and professional management, with Sector 54 Chowk rapid metro close by, which on Golf Course Road is not a given.