Rs 50-cr integrated mall coming up in Chennai

Ampa Housing Development plans to construct a Rs 50 crore mall in Chennai. Called, Ampa Centre One, the mall is scheduled to be inaugurated in September 2006.

At a press conference on Saturday, Ampa Housing's managing director Ampa Palaniappan, said that Ampa Centre One would be a fully integrated mall (would have something for the entire family with a wide spectrum of services).

The mall would be spread over three acres (at the junction of Nelson Manickam Road and Poonamalee High Road), and have a built-up area of over 6 lakh square feet.

Other than retail outlets, it would also have a multiplex run by PVR Cinemas. The multiplex will have over 1,800 seats. Ampa Centre One would also house a 20-room boutique hotel and a bar. The mall is designed by Cheralathan Associates, the outfit which worked on the design of Mayajaal entertainment complex near Chennai.

The main catchment areas for the mall are expected to be Chennai's north western areas such as Anna Nagar and Kilpauk.

The mall would have two anchor retail outlets "" Spencer's Hypermarket and West Side Department Store. Palaniappan said that the mall would have a multi-level car park with space for 1,000 cars.

Zoning in

Ampa Centre One will be managed by a stand-alone company floated by the promoters. The highlight of the project is that the promoters do not intend to sell space, and stick to just leasing space.

Palaniappan explained that a key feature of the mall would be its zoning. Any kind of service such as retail outlets or food courts would be confined to its zone. The promoters plan to avoid outright sale of space to retain control over the nature of activity in each zone.

The promoters expect to turn in profits by the third year of operation, he said. Also, about 60 per cent of lease rentals would be securitised. The base lease rate in the retail zone is likely to be around Rs 40 a square foot, and the lease period would vary between three years and 21 years.

In the case of the multiplex, the promoters have arrived at a business model which includes income through lease rental as well as revenue sharing with PVR Cinemas which will manage the multiplex.

Palaniappan said their studies showed that the mall would attract about 2.31 lakh footfalls a month that would translate into business.