Several of the alumni had their home towns outside Ernakulam. It was an interesting idea to build a housing colony for the alumni to live together. Also, for an organisation to sustain, there needs to be some purpose and activity continuously. This was considered worthy by all. Again, it was Prof. Jussay who proposed it. This was in 1985. The idea was to allow salaried alumni to own a residential plot on convenient payment terms. It was a daring venture, considering the scale and paucity of funds.

Core groups consisting Prof Jussay , Babu T Jose (CUSAT), Devadas, Laligro (GCDA Engineer), Chilprakash, Sadik and Francis K Paul were key to this project. They toured various housing colonies and a detailed grading criteria formed for house plots. About 250 plots were evaluated through a strenuous process that lasted more than a year, 14 were shortlisted and the whole committee visited each and arrived at a final list of 3 plots. The best suited, commercially and based on proximity to the city was at Padamugal in Kakkanad.

The plot at Padamugal scored highest, and the clock was ticking, with the possibility of other buyers coming in, land was purchased quickly for RECAA Enclave. The land was divided into fifty-five housing plots.

While the plots were being measured and boundaries marked, several night outs by the core team, brainstorming about dividing the land into suitable plots for house construction – it came to the notice of the team that 7 cents of land remained, and this was because the total area was more than 7 acres. The Landlords did not know. In other words, a lottery. However, in the true testament of RECCAA’s integrity and trust, it was informed to the former owners and compensation was paid.

Area was divided into plots accommodating the members’ area requirement and location preference, with provision for wide roads. It was then offered to the members and then REC alumni came and bought the plots one by one. Few of them were bought by others too.

55 housing plots were formed, with varying dimensions based on different needs and affordability. The housing project was a dream plot in Kochi with a well-planned area with wide roads. RECCAA Enclave remains a sought-after spot even after all these years and a feather in the cap of RECCAA/NITCAA.