Transit One: Heralding the concept of theme-based malls in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: Whether we like it or not malls have become more of a norm than an exception in India. The only visible change is that from big multilevel malls the focus is slowly shifting towards smaller and theme based malls, which no doubt is a welcome development.

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Mangaluru is also fast catching up with this trend thanks to the initiative taken by Ecologic Habitats LLP, a well-known real estate firm comprising of a team having over 30 years of experience in the field. This real estate leader, in association with Caizer group, is all set to introduce a theme based transit mall aptly named "Transit One." 'Stop, recharge, restart', is the basic concept theme of the mall coming up on NH66, opposite Unity Hall, just a stone's throw from the busy and upcoming Thokkottu junction. Being a transit mall its aim is to target both the local populace as well as the travellers passing through this busy highway.

Come November and the foundation for this smaller version of the mall, the first of its kind in Mangaluru, will be laid and the ground plus four storey mall will be ready in the next 2 ½ years. Slated to come up in a 40 cent land adjacent to NH-66, Transit One will be an affordable and egalitarian mall catering to the local demographic unlike the existing huge malls that cater only to a section of the society. Nevertheless, the promoters say "This is basically a stop-over mall where we want travellers to stop, recharge and restart. Size-wise it is not a huge mall but it will have everything that malls have. We will set new benchmarks with many firsts to the credit of this mall. We want to give shops to every category of people - those who come with an investment of Rs 10 lakhs to 10 crores. We believe that the design, location, structure, elevation and the novel concept of the project will make Transit One the most attractive destination of Mangaluru with unlimited opportunities to unwind and skylark.

Potential for Growth

The setting of this upcoming mall on Thokkottu Junction, which forms the gateway to Mangaluru City, is the USP of this project apart from its inimitable structure. It is designed to proclaim its enigmatic presence with an irresistible allure. The promoters have done a neat homework before venturing into this project. Needless to say, the project is the outcome of painstaking research of almost 1 ½ years which convinced the promoters that it is the best location and concept and they decided to take a plunge. One of the partners of the project says "We have conducted a detailed survey and found that this area forms the nerve centre of the city from its gateway Thokkottu, that connects the city to Deralakatte, the IT and education hub of Mangaluru. This hub houses about 7000 medical students, 1000 doctors, about 3000 IT honchos and more than 5000 NRI households. Sadly, the surrounding area does not boast of infrastructure, development and other entertainment facilities to cater to this vast segment of young, enthusiastic, passionate and cosmopolitan crowd. Our research has clearly shown that this area has enormous potential for growth. The fact that 40% of the shops are already sold clearly demonstrates that people have realised the strategic importance of this location."

Being a premium education and health care centre Mangaluru city has vast potential for growth to emerge as an important business, industrial and IT hub. It has been recognised as one among the 36 Tier II cities in India to emerge as magnets for investment in infrastructure. Smart city naturally means better infrastructure, amenities and enhanced lifestyle. Though mall culture per se is not a novelty in India the compact nature of this themed mall will be an added attraction as it has many others firsts to its credit.

Many Firsts

"Transit One" will be the first mall in the region to offer an exclusive floor for smaller vanilla store units.. The promoters point out "The sky-high cost of space in malls is a major concern for many and therefore we want to address this concern of people through this mall." It will be the first mall with External LCD display, the mall boasts of the primacy given to landscape design and it is the first mall built by making a comprehensive study of the requirements of the customers. They have roped in the services of India's leading Landscape Architect Rohit Marol of Terra Firma for its unique landscape. The suburbs are best suited for theme-based malls and having realised the great potential for development of this area the promoters have made valiant efforts to source the best names in varied fields.

Another salient feature of the project is the drive-in super market, a novelty in a mall, which makes shopping convenient and pleasurable, unlike the present set up in most malls which makes it a tedious process. The entire 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor is set aside for branded and semi- branded shops in varied categories of products. Having taken care of the shopping needs of both the travellers and domestic customers the promoters have also given utmost priority to the visitors gastronomic needs. Because in this age where eating out become fashionable, one cannot think of modern malls without food courts. Promoters of malls usually consider fine-dining restaurants as a quintessential factor to their overall tenant mix and they have been proved right. This is largely because these restaurants help give the exclusivity factor to the malls and also due to the fact that food is a major footfall driver towards malls attracting horde of families to savour variegated and choicest of cuisine available here. So much so, today malls are becoming repository of cost effective multi-cuisine food and entertainment destinations.

It is therefore, natural that the promoters of Transit One have given top priority to eating-out to allure customers. This mall will boast of food courts - a 3 star restaurant, a landscaped terrace roof top club and a multi-cuisine restaurant to cater to the cosmopolitan crowd of the surrounding area.

"Transit One" is conceived as a one-stop-shop mall wherein customers don't have to go anywhere else scouting for other shops to buy anything and everything they require. "We want this mall to cater to the needs of all segments of the society. Even if a woman wants to buy a bindi or a ribbon or a student wants to buy a book or pencil they don't have to look for another shop. We believe and endorse the idea of Small world of large Happiness", the promoters point out.

The promoters have sourced the services of the best names in the real estate field, to come out with this theme-based destination mall appealing in its design, eye-catching with its structure, attractive in its overall appearance and spacious and comfortable to stroll around with its theme-designed spaces. The services of leading Mangaluru based Architects 2PKM have been sought for this project. The combined effort of all trusted professionals in the project team is sure to give the true value for money to the investors.

Transit One has everything that is going to make it the most eagerly awaited mall of Mangaluru. True to its name the promoters want the travellers and the local crowd to experience the on-going journey of life via Transit One. With this mall going to become a reality soon, the young, educated and yuppie crowd of the academic hub of Mangaluru and people of Mangaluru can certainly look forward to for a place that is sure to come close to their dream destination.

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