Sunday marks the public debut of Palladium, Ahmedabad’s new mall, which covers 7.5 lakh square feet shopping space, 250 national and international brands, a food court, stand-alone restaurants and cineplexes.
Located at the busy intersection near Eklavya Sports Academy at Thaltej, the Rs 850-crore project is a 50:50 joint venture by Mumbai-based Phoenix Mills Ltd and Ahmedabad-based realty, B. Safal Group.
“The city lacked a luxe retail outlet. This mall will have 35 luxury brands that are coming for the first time to Ahmedabad,” shared Himanshu Madanmohan, director, Safal Constructions Pvt Ltd. The first-timers include Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Coach and Tumi.
The last significant mall opening in the city dates back to the 2011 inauguration of the 12-lakh square foot AlphaOne mall in Vastrapur, now known as Ahmedabad One.
“We are operating malls across the country. Ahmedabad has great potential because Gujaratis are known to spend. Palladium brings the grandeur of space, the luxury of choices and of course, the best of retail shopping experience to the city. Malls mean glitz and glamour and some of the older malls are losing out because of their dilapidated maintenance. Why would anyone want to go and spend time at such places?” questioned Rashmi Sen, COO, Phoenix Mills Ltd, which is listed on the BSE. Currently, Phoenix Mills operates 10 malls in the country having a cumulative area of 88 lakh square feet.
The Palladium mall’s anchor tenants include brands such as H&M, Lifestyle, Marks & Spencer, Pantaloons, Max, and Reliance Trends, among others. According to the developers, the mall has been 95 percent leased out so far. The mall has five storeys, with the top two floors housing the food and beverage area, which includes eateries including Foo, Cha, Jamie’s Pizza and Burma Burma.
The mall will feature cutting-edge arcade games and entertainment experiences provided by Fun City, Time Zone, and Hamleys Play. With nine theatres and 1,300 seats total, PVR will include IMAX and Luxe screens.
However, apprehending traffic snarls soon, the realtors are in talks with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Traffic Police on “how to decongest” the area. The mall’s parking lot can house 600 cars but given its address at a busy intersection, timely planning alone can pre-empt traffic woes in the region.
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