Codenamed Sky City Mall, the million square feet shopping centre will be a premium property with rooftop restaurants and parking for 1,900 cars
New Delhi: Oberoi Realty plans a million and a half square feet mall at Borivali East, a part of the Mumbai’s western suburbs. Slated to open in the third quarter of the next financial year, the new mall is strategically located, flanked by the Western Express Highway on one side and a metro station on the other.
“The Borivali mall will be a premium property housing some of the best upmarket brands in India and abroad,” Sameep Pathak, CEO – Mall, Oberoi Realty said in an exclusive interaction.
Codenamed Sky City Mall this will be Oberoi Realty’s second shopping centre. Its first centre, Oberoi Mall, is located on the same highway at Goregaon in Mumbai, which become operational in 2008. Spread across 700,000 sq. ft., Oberoi Mall is a part of the 80-acre Oberoi Garden City, an integrated township with residential and commercial development, an international school, a 5-star Hotel and commercial centre.
Captive catchment
Like Oberoi Mall, the upcoming shopping centre too will be part of a mixed development with residential and retail clubbed together. The group is banking on a captive audience of 10,000 to 12,000—the residents of the housing complex for the mall.
Given the proximity to the upcoming Devipada Metro Station and the location of the mall, Pathak expects a steady footfall as this will be the first premium mall in this part of the western suburbs.
Borivali is divided into East and West, divided by the local train line. The combined population of Borivali east and west as per 2020 data by geoiq.io is 541,186. The nearest mall for residents of Borivali on the Western Express Highway is Growel’s 101 at Kandivali, which is approximately 4.8 km from Borivali East and 7.8 km from Borivali West.
The second floor of the mall will have direct access from the Devipada Metro station. This will prove to be a huge advantage in attracting metro commuters to the mall, especially the weekend crowd who can enjoy F&B offerings without having to worry about drink and drive.
Mall mix
The mall will have a lower ground floor, ground floor, two floors of retail and the third and the fourth floor will house Family Entertainment centres (FECs) and Food & Beverage (F&B), respectively. The FEC will include a 10-screen Inox with Imax screen. The fourth floor will be a rooftop F&B area. “The rooftop will house restaurants which will be around 2,000 to 2,500 sq. ft. each. This is the USP of the mall,” said Pathak.
About 30% of space in the mall will be allocated to Food & Beverage, including kiosks and food court, 12-15% to a hypermarket and 3% to FEC. The rest will be speciality retail. “The mall will have two anchors one at the north end and one at the south,” explained Pathak without revealing names. He did share that the expression of interest for space in the mall exceeded its supply. “Most of the national and international brands have given Expression of Interest,” replied Oberoi Realty in response to an email query on the same.
“There will be pop-up premium offerings. Also, will have a large gold souk—a specially designated area for gold jewellery brands,” Pathak explained. The Gold Souk will be 35,000 sq. ft. The mall will also have a Shoe Souk covering 40,000 sq. ft.
Parking
The property will have three levels of parking with a capacity to park 1900 cars. The parking lots will have EV charging stations and touchscreen transaction points. “We have put a lot of thought in the parking space. In fact, we are considering offering the space for paid parking to metro commuters,” revealed Pathak adding that this could be a good way to get footfall into the mall.
Nomenclature and timelines
Pathak shared the Group is yet to finalise the name of the mall and is deciding between Sky City Mall to align it with its residential property and Oberoi Mall, Borivali which will indicate its connection with the existing mall, which enjoys considerable brand salience.
Sharing the tentative schedule for the mall, Pathak said that January and February 2023 will be for expression of interest and agreements. Oberoi Realty confirmed that commercial discussions with brands have commenced basis the expression of interest.
“If all goes as per plan, fit-outs are expected to start by June 2023, dry run in September and opening in October 2023 around Navratri (15-24 October),” the CEO had said in November.
Immediate priorities
Sharing his priorities as the CEO of Malls at Oberoi Realty, Pathak said. “Bringing a million square feet to life, looking at Growth and making our malls community centres –Retail is an afterthought. We want to make our centres hangout places for all age groups,” he concluded.
