Attention shopaholics: India's most expensive retail space to get a mall makeover

Delhi’s Khan market may have been untouched by the booming mall culture across the country, but that state of affairs might not last too long.

After giving Connaught Place a facelift, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to revamp the city’s other two landmarks – Khan Market and Gole Market, reports PTI.

According to a Hindustan Times report today , besides a mall and a multiplex, the revamp includes an underground parking with a tunnel connecting it to the nearest metro station. The report notes that theNDMC is also planning to an al fresco walking space in place of the current parking lot, a centralised air-conditioning unit and a common effluent treatment facility.

As per the plan, the civic body has appointed an architect-consultant for redeveloping the two markets into tourist and shopping hubs, while retaining their cultural value to the city. In the Gole market area,a 3D museum and a 10-storey shopping complex are planned.

The museum at Gole market will present the history of Lutyens’ Delhi and will include photographs and artifacts.

NDMC has also planned a 10-storey night bazaar on Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg. The multi-storey building will be a shopping complex on the lines of Mustafa Centre in Singapore, one of the 24X7 shopping malls famed for selling electronic gadgets.

“The complex will remain open all night. It will open up space that will be used to rehabilitate tehbaazaris (vendors),” an NDMC official told PTI.NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava also told PTI thatthe plan is to turn these markets into tourist and shopping hubs which will also add cultural value.

For Khan Market, the civic body has asked its consultant to come up with a comprehensive plan to do away with the twin problems of parking and lack of a centralised air-conditioning system.

According to real estate research report by Cushman and Wakefield, Khan market is the most expensive retail market in the country, with a world ranking of 28. The monthly rental at Khan market is about Rs 1,260 per sq feet per month. So, basically the rent of a store of about 500 sq ft is estimated at Rs 6, 30,000.

According to property consultant CBRE,Delhi-NCR ranks 21st in the global list of cities with the maximum shopping centre space under construction in 2014.Around 5,00,000 sq metre of new retail space is under construction in New Delhi. The largest two projects, DLF Mallof India at Noida (204,385 sq metre) and Logix City Centre Mall (1,11,483 sq metre) are both located in Noida.

Khan market, builtas one of the most upscale markets of Delhi, is located in the heart of the city, surrounded by posh residential areas like Jor Bagh, Lodhi Estate, Golf Links, Sujan Singh Park. It is also within striking distance of Lodhi Gardens. Adjacent to the market, the area has luxury hotels like Claridges, Taj Mahal and Ambassador.

Named after Abdul Gaffar Khan, Khan Market has always been a coveted strip of property. A 2006 moneycontrol report noted that that the sale and purchase of properties in the market place and its surrounding areas have been low for a long time. “Demand is in excess of supply,” noted the report. Yet, high property prices had deterred buyers.

Khan market has always been a favourite of shopaholics. It has a wide variety of stores, including those of modern showrooms of several famous brands, including Nike, Reebok, United Colors of Benetton, Adidas, Hidesign, etc. In addition, there are some famous food joints. Interestingly, six years ago, when the mall phenomenon was just being introduced in Delhi, Khan market shopkeepers told CNBC-TV18 that they were not worried about losing customers to modern malls, which were being touted as ’the ultimate shopping experience’. “We are not worried because, for one, these chains are in a huge area and that sort of space is not available in the city. Even if they open these shopping paradises in suburban Delhi, who has the time to go that far? When people get items ranging from grocery to high profile branded products here why will they go to malls?” asked one shopkeeper.

But, with this redevelopment plan, do they have a reason to worry now?

The Khan Market Redevelopment Plan was commissioned in 2011 but has only remained on paper so far. And thetraders of Khan market are quite apprehensive about the plan.

Earlier, a Hindustan Times article noted thatthe Connaught Placemakeover bid was first conceived in 2004 and set in motion finally in 2008. What began as a two-year project missed the completion deadline five times and finally ended three years behind schedule and almost nine times over budget. However, this time around, NDMC officials are confident of avoiding a similar fiasco with Khan Market.