Prozone CSC is likely to launch its shopping mall project in Coimbatore this year. Nigam Patel, director of Prozone CSC, told The Hindu here on Tuesday that the mall is planned as part of a mixed use development on Saravanampatty Road. The company proposes to develop shopping, entertainment, commercial, and residential projects on 25 acres.
The mall will have 5.5 lakh sq.ft retail space, parking facility for 2,500 cars, 38,000 sq.ft entertainment area and 50,000 sq.ft food court, apart from multiplex. It will have elements for expansion in the future. It is future proof in the case of parking space and access road. “We have finalised the project and will start talking to anchors. We need to have a mix of national and regional players and modern and traditional retailers,” he said. Prozone will bring in several international experts for development of the horizontal mall (ground plus one floor) and the project is likely to be completed in three years.
Prozone has developed a similar mall in Aurangabad and the focus now is on Coimbatore and Nagpur. On the potential, he said Coimbatore is an emerging city and Information Technology sector is coming up. The project will be located on the IT corridor of the city, where several residential projects are coming up. The advantage of having a mall in a mixed use development is that there is a captive customer base.
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The Indian retail market is so big and offering the right product at right price will be the game changer. The main problems in high streets are lack of or limited availability of parking space, high cost and security. Hence, new and emerging players look at malls.
Tier-two cities in the country have tremendous growth potentials. “If the product is right, it will have users. A mall is not just a shopping space but a place to spend quality time with family,” he said.