PCMC's first mall City One is all set to receive visitors

Pune:  Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune's thriving sister city, is all set to throw the doors of its first full-fledged mall open to the public. City One Mall, a joint undertaking by PCMC's leading development companies Rama Group and Pharande Spaces, is being exclusively leased out by Jones Lang LaSalle India.

Jeetu Panjabi, director of Rama Group said: "The one missing  link on PCMC's well-meshed real estate market has been organized retail. With City One Mall, the gap is finally being bridged. This mall brings the best of brands under one roof to create a unique shopping experience. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation now has a distinct cosmopolitan profile, and lifestyle aspirations are at an all-time high."

Strategically located close to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Building, City One has four levels of retail spaces and will provide an international shopping experience, an exclusive Entertainment City, alfresco cafes and global dining options to PCMC's residents.

Anil Pharande, Chairman of Pharande Spaces said:  "PCMC has always been a promising catchment for retail developments. The region's versatile population profile has already spelled success for major local category players like Jai-Hind, Ranka Jewellers, Silver Leaf, Krishna Rajaram Ashtekar, Vama, Hastakala Sarees, PNG, Bafna Jewellers and Chandukaka Saraf. Nevertheless, PCMC has not had the benefit of a full-fledged mall development to cater to its highly aspirational and rapidly growing shopper catchment."

The PCMC region has seen a quantum leap in retail viability, driven by the high purchasing power of employees from its automobile and other manufacturing industries as well as massive trading community. The potential for organized retail in Pimpri-Chinchwad was waiting to be tapped, and Jones Lang LaSalle's retail team confirms that the demand for space at City One has been nothing short of spectacular. 

PCMC's industrial development is the most important ingredient of its success story. The proximity of massive manufacturing clusters within its precincts has fuelled job availability across literally all socio-economic strata. The region's unmatched employment generation has, in turn, driven demand for residential properties from affordable housing to luxury homes. Even as more and more commercial and industrial establishments arrive to set up shop there, residential developers in the PCMC have their hands full delivering projects across the various price bands.

So far, organized retail has had a very limited presence in the PCMC belt. The opportunity for retailer to capture the full potential of this market is much greater as compared to many other locations. The massive residential development happening in and around PCMC is creating considerable inherent retail demand. National hypermarket chains such as Big Bazaar, Star Bazaar and D Mart and organised retail chains like E Zone, Croma, Vijay Sales, McDonald, Just In Time, World of Titan, Tanishq and FabIndia already exist in stand-alone stores. Now, City One Mall at is all set to offer all the major brands under a single roof.

City One Mall's total development size is 3,33,000 square feet of built-up area, consisting of two buildings, both equipped with four levels  of retail spaces and two levels of parking space. In the first building, which has a total area of 1,12,000 square feet, Central has already snapped up 81,000 square feet across the ground, first and second floors and is gearing up for a grand launch of Pimpri Central by the end of 2013. The remaining 21,000 square feet have been leased to Men's Avenue - a leading Pune-based apparel retailer which has also taken up space for their 'Kajree' saree section on the second floor. Both these stores were inaugurated on 11th October, 2013 by Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Ajit Pawar.

The second building in City One Mall, with 2,21,000 square feet, has been allocated to the mall's multiplex, another anchor as well as restaurants and vanilla retail stores. Mainland China and Global Grill have already taken up 11,000 square feet on the second floor and are operational. The 5-screen PVR multiplex is scheduled to open up in the first quarter of 2014.