In making: Balasaheb Thackeray national memorial, a mix of heritage and engineering marvel!

Behind the green bushes lies the newly redeveloped yet to be opened Mayor’s bungalow in Dadar. The redevelopment is a part of Balasaheb Thackeray National Memorial at the Mayor’s bungalow here, the first phase of which has been completed, and the second phase is already underway. 

While it is hard to take a glimpse of the developments from the outside, the construction for the remaining parts is evident from the outside, which is a unique underground structure located on a seafront. AS per the latest announcements that were made by the Thackeray family, the memorial is set to open in January 2026. 

Carved into the land—a 60,000-square-foot built space- is being led by women engineers and architects, and the principal architect is Abha Narain Lambah, who has transformed the 2.9-acre Mayor’s estate into a democratic public space. 

A contemporary yet rooted site 

As much as is visible from the outside, and reportedly, the Mayor’s Bungalow, which was built in 1928, has continued to be the prime attraction here. The Victorian-era Mayor’s Bungalow has been a reminder of the past and nostalgia for the Thackeray, and as Aditya Thackeray reportedly says, he has seen various political meetings here where his grandfather and father would take part. 

This space also opens into the kund, a reflective water body. Right from here, people can take a staircase which leads further down into the museum’s immersive experience.

The basics of this memorial can be defined by an Interpretation Centre housing galleries, seminar halls and museum spaces, which is located 20 feet below ground. What gives a counterpoint to the classical elegance of the bungalow is the concrete geometry above the heads.

The speeches, cartoons and writings of Balasaheb Thackeray will all be part of the digital library inside the glass cabin, which is suspended over the subterranean lounge. 

Another low-rise structure here will be the administration block that will include the offices of the memorial’s trust, public facilities and a courtyard cafe. This structure, as per reports, has been crafted from salvaged timber and locally sourced stone. It also houses the century-old Banyan tree. 

During the completion of the first phase of this project, the former Chief Minister and Balasaheb Thackeray’s son, Uddhav Thackeray, had mentioned that no trees had been cut at this site during the redevelopment. 

Here, reportedly, additional trees have been planted for shade, bringing the total to 233, which also includes indigenous species like Chafa and Champa.

Seafront site and preventing flooding 

In a city like Mumbai, where the spaces are limited, a public seafront site is yet another public luxury to have, and this redevelopment is likely to offer the same to Mumbai residents. 

On the other hand, the architects have kept in mind the unpredictable monsoon season of Mumbai and have created a high-tide overflow buffer tank to battle any flooding. It measures seven metres deep, 70 metres long, and five metres wide. 

It has been constructed with a presumption of a 48-hour flooding scenario, and hence, the tank’s capacity has been calculated accordingly. 

As per reports, the architects are of the view that even if water falls beyond that, it will go into the sea.