In the restless heart of Gurgaon, where sleek towers rise beside traffic jams and waterlogged streets, Ankush Kaul sits composed, his tone steady but unsparing. As President of Sales, Marketing, and CRM at Central Park Estates, Kaul has seen India’s real estate journey evolve over nearly three decades, from the early stirrings of luxury housing to a world where the term ‘premium’ is overused and often misunderstood. Yet for him, luxury isn’t about marble flooring or chandeliers; it’s about intent, experience, and a kind of hospitality that lingers long after the sale is done.
We meet at Central Park Resorts in Sector 48, Gurgaon, the windows framing a skyline that has come to define the very essence of the millennium city. Ankush Kaul sits behind a polished desk, calm yet not fully composed, the calm of experience tempered by concern. From this vantage point, the glass towers and sprawling developments glint in the afternoon sun, a testament to ambition and growth. Yet his mind is elsewhere, on the streets below that continue to struggle with flooding, traffic snarls, and infrastructure stretched beyond its limits. The contrast is stark: gleaming luxury projects rising above a city still grappling with basic civic challenges.
Kaul doesn’t hide his frustration. “It’s a shame,” he says, while his eyes tracing the familiar outlines of roads that too often turn into rivers during the monsoon. “This city has some of the finest luxury homes, but when the rains come, everyone is equally stranded, whether you live in a ten-crore or a hundred-crore apartment.”
His words cut to the core of a long-ignored truth: Gurgaon's civic infrastructure has failed to match its rapid growth. The glass towers and gated communities rise faster than the drains beneath them can cope. “There’s been an over-surge in dwelling units,” Kaul explains. “The infrastructure was never planned for such density. Add poor waste management and lack of civic sense, and you have a recipe for disaster.” He believes the problem goes beyond the municipality, it’s also about mindset. “People need sensitization and education,” he insists. “Quarterly maintenance, better allocation of resources, and even parallel drainage systems should be considered.”
Despite this bleak backdrop, Central Park’s developments, Flower Valley and Central Park Resorts stand out as examples of what careful planning can achieve. “We have completely eliminated waterlogging issues within our projects,” Kaul says with quiet pride. It’s not just engineering but foresight. Yet the moment residents drive out, they re-enter the chaos. “You can’t isolate yourself from the city,” he remarks. “Our projects can fix internal systems, but external governance affects everyone.”
Gurgaon vs. Noida: A Tale of Two Cities
Kaul is candid about Gurgaon's fall from grace. Once the poster child of aspirational urban India, it’s now losing ground to Noida. “Noida has caught up,” he says. “It’s master planning is superior, its land availability better, and infrastructure more thought-out.” In recent years, Noida has matched Gurgaon's pricing and even surpassed it in certain micro-markets. Developers once loyal to Gurgaon are now exploring projects across the Yamuna. “Players from Gurgaon are eyeing Noida,” Kaul notes, pointing to the spate of super-luxury launches as evidence.
The shift, he suggests, isn’t just about geography but governance. Noida’s cleaner, better-planned ecosystem is attracting both end-users and investors. Gurgaon, despite its brand value, risks being outpaced unless it rethinks its civic strategy.
The Central Park Way: From Homes to Experiences
Amid these shifting dynamics, Central Park has carved out a niche by redefining what luxury means. “A home is a physical asset,” Kaul says. “An experience is what surrounds it.” For Central Park, the experience begins at the gate and extends into every aspect of daily life, landscaping, design, hospitality, and the little details that make residents feel known.
He recounts an anecdote that sums up their philosophy: “At our cafés and bars, staff remember residents’ favourite orders. That’s not standard real estate. That’s hospitality.” It’s why their flagship property is called Central Park Resorts. “We designed it like a resort, where residents feel like they’re on vacation even at home,” he explains.
This approach also builds community. Kaul describes the recent pre-Diwali bash that drew nearly 3,000 residents. “It wasn’t about luxury decor or expensive performers, it was about togetherness. Our residents felt proud, and they became our ambassadors.” He smiles when recalling how guests from other projects later approached Central Park, curious about its “resort life.” “Anyone can build fancy homes,” Kaul says. “But recreating that soul, that sense of belonging, isn’t easy.”
Redefining Luxury in India
Having witnessed real estate’s transformation over 28 years, Kaul has seen luxury evolve from address-based prestige to something far more nuanced. In the 1990s and early 2000s, luxury meant living in prime city locations. Then came the phase of golf residences, imported fittings, and sprawling penthouses. Today, he says, “everyone is luxury,” a label diluted by overuse.
“True luxury,” Kaul clarifies, “is limited edition, it’s about convenience, security, and subtlety. It’s not loud. It’s about how it makes you feel.” He laments how some glitzy projects lose their sheen once services falter. “If you can’t sustain service quality, the experience collapses. Many developments looked great on paper but were gimmicks to push sales.”
For Central Park, the focus remains on personalization and service. Their 20-acre green expanse, complete with orchards and landscaped gardens, isn’t just for aesthetics, it improves air quality. “Clean air is a form of luxury now,” Kaul admits.
The company’s future plans include a “walk-to-work” concept at Flower Valley, blending residential, retail, and office spaces for seamless living. “Time is luxury too,” he adds. “If you can reclaim hours lost to traffic, you have improved quality of life.”
Sustainability Meets Technology
The buzzwords of modern real estate, ‘sustainability and technology’ are often used loosely. But Kaul believes both are integral to longevity. Central Park has taken steps toward environmental harmony through green cover, water bodies, and features like anti-smog guns. Their Orchard project offers fruit-lined pathways that give residents a ‘farm-to-fork’ experience, merging ecological awareness with everyday living. “We are working toward net-zero footprints,” he says. “It’s about optimizing resources, not just ticking boxes.”
Technology, meanwhile, is reshaping expectations. From home automation to AI-driven services, Central Park’s upcoming projects, particularly those targeting NRIs are designed for digital convenience. Yet Kaul notices a parallel counter-trend. “People are also craving simplicity,” he observes. “There’s a back-to-roots movement. Homebuyers are embracing Made-in-India elements, avoiding tech overload, and creating calmer spaces.” It’s a shift from showing off luxury to quietly inhabiting it.
The Hospitality Edge
Kaul’s philosophy stems from his own background. Trained in hospitality, he began his career in an industry built on attentiveness. “Hospitality teaches you resilience, listening, and ‘seva bhav’, the spirit of service,” he says. It’s this foundation that gives Central Park its distinct character. “Real estate often focuses on transactions; hospitality focuses on relationships. We merge the two.”
This service-driven approach also informs leadership. “In hospitality, you deal with unpredictable guests; in real estate, you handle unpredictable customers,” he says with a laugh. “You learn patience and empathy.” These lessons, he believes, translate into better teamwork and stakeholder management.
Reading the Market
Kaul is confident about NCR’s long-term prospects despite short-term challenges. “There will always be cycles, growth followed by consolidation,” he predicts. Rising incomes, job creation, and infrastructure projects like new airports will continue fuelling demand. The city’s population influx ensures that housing needs evolve with life stages: “People move from 2BHKs to villas as they grow.”
What’s interesting, he notes, is how the mid-segment has blended into premium. “Prices have escalated to the point where a good 2BHK in a Gurgaon suburb costs three to five crores,” he says. “Affordable housing has practically disappeared or reinvented itself as compact luxury.”
Buyers today fall into three broad groups. First-timers, who value amenities and cost-efficiency; seasoned buyers, who seek brand trust and steady ROI; and investors, who currently drive nearly half of all transactions. “Investors are shaping the market, they influence pricing and supply strategies,” Kaul explains.
Millennials, meanwhile, are rewriting ownership rules. “They are pragmatic,” he says. “They prefer renting because yields are only 1.5–2%. They will buy later when their priorities shift.” It’s a smart, flexible approach that challenges traditional Indian sentiment toward property.
Selling Trust, Not Dreams
Aligning sales, marketing, and CRM under one umbrella allows Central Park to keep the customer journey coherent. “We under-commit and over-deliver,” Kaul says simply. Pre-sales teams set honest expectations, sales communicate clearly, and post-sales ensures satisfaction. “We focus on facts, deliveries, service, hospitality not fantasy.”
That credibility builds trust, which Kaul sees as real estate’s true currency. “A home is the biggest emotional and financial investment for most people. If you can earn trust, you can command a premium.” He credits repeat customers and communities for Central Park’s strong brand equity. “Our residents’ faith drives faster decision-making for new buyers. It’s compounding trust.”
Lessons in Leadership
When asked about his leadership philosophy, Kaul leans on instinct. “Better to act and follow up than over-analyze,” he says. But his approach is rooted in collaboration. “Leadership is about the collective good, about giving, not taking.” Over the years, he’s learned that empowering teams yields better results than micromanaging. “When people feel ownership, they perform beyond expectations.”
His vision for Central Park is clear: conservative yet ambitious. The company’s strong land bank and reputation position it for measured growth, not reckless expansion. “We are preparing for an IPO,” he reveals. “That means strengthening systems, deepening customer engagement, and expanding nationally.” Beyond Gurgaon, Central Park is exploring projects in Goa and Alwar, regions that blend natural charm with investment potential.
Challenges and Opportunities
Luxury real estate, Kaul admits, faces its own set of hurdles. Regulatory shifts, changing buyer behaviour, and rising expectations require agility. But the opportunities outweigh the risks. “Our foundation is strong: quality land, credible delivery, and a differentiated model. The next phase is scale.”
On labour challenges, he’s pragmatic. “There are shortages, but technology helps. Robotics, 3D printing, these innovations reduce dependency on manual labour. Plus, metro-level wages remain attractive.”
The Road Ahead
As our conversation winds down, the skyline outside glimmers in the afternoon haze, a fitting metaphor for Gurgaon itself, dazzling yet clouded by contradictions. Kaul’s optimism remains undimmed, though grounded in realism. “We are not just building homes,” he says. “We are creating lifestyles that last.”
In a region defined by ambition and inequity, Kaul’s words carry weight. For Gurgaon to truly embody the luxury it sells, it needs more than high-rises and show flats, it needs better planning, civic discipline, and collective responsibility.
Central Park’s journey suggests what’s possible when hospitality meets habitat, and intent meets infrastructure. As Kaul puts it, “Luxury isn’t what you buy, it’s how you live.”
