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208000 Sq. Ft. AeroMall To Feature High-profile Retail Brands

Pune: ANAROCK Retail, the retail services wing of property consultancy ANAROCK Group, expects to complete leasing out Pune Airport's standalone mixed-use centre encompassing shopping, office & coworking, a food court and multi-level car park (MLCP) by the end of Q3 2022. As sole advisors for this massive development, called AeroMall and developed by Pebbles Infra-Tech Pvt. Ltd., ANAROCK has designed the complex, managed its development, and crafted its tenant mix.

The total leasable area of the retail spaces is 130000 sq. ft. spread over three floors. The entire third floor measuring 65,000 sq. ft. is dedicated to coworking/office spaces which will cater to approx. 2000 working professionals at a time. Including a 350000 sq. ft. Multi-level Car Park, the entire complex spans a massive 208000 sq. ft.

Mayank Sharan, Director - ANAROCK Retail says, "The new Pune Airport retail and coworking complex is being carried out under the PPP model with AAI, with development being carried out exclusively by Pebbles Infra-Tech Pvt. Ltd. Given the shopper profile, the retail spaces are ideally suited for tenants such as high-end electronics, apparel, and F&B outlets and we are tenanting them accordingly."

"Some of the brands already confirmed to take up space are Croma, McDonalds, Starbucks, Spykar, Zudio, and the cosmetics retailer Sugar," says Mayank Sharan. "Discussions are also on with other high-recall anchors like Decathlon. Given the unique location, the remaining spaces are being snapped up by other retailers."

The post-pandemic revival in air travel has brought airport retail back centre-stage. However, there continues to be a deficit of quality retail spaces at Indian airports for the best-suited retailers dealing in apparel and fashion, wellness, electronics and travel accessories, F&B, and beauty products.

Airport retail is attractive for retailers due to the relatively higher ROI compared to other locations. However, a well-researched tenant mix is critical in airports. Usually, airport retail space sizes are directly correlated to the retail category and can range from 500-5000 sq. ft.

As an independent development, AeroMall is unique because eliminates the usual restrictions of airport retail and gives retailers a full-fledged shopping mall environment in one of the most valuable locations in the city in terms of catchment demographics and captive footfalls.

"What makes this mixed-use complex at Pune Airport unique is that it will serve passengers and is also an independent retail and coworking destination," says Sunil Nahar, Director - Pebbles Infra-Tech Pvt. Ltd. "The addition of coworking spaces in the commercial office spaces responds to a very contemporary need. Coworking gained prominence during the pandemic, but its inclusion in the complex is also a function of the location profile. Remote/hybrid working air travellers are an obvious customer source but these high-end coworking spaces will also be a major draw for working professionals from areas like Viman Nagar, Tingre Nagar, Dhanori, and Wagholi."

Pebbles Infra-Tech is concluding discussions with leading coworking operators to finalize one which will operate the coworking centre beginning mid-October.

Pune Airport is a civil enclave operated by the Airports Authority of India alongside the Lohegaon Air Force Station. It caters to domestic and international flights and sees massive passenger traffic. Pune Airport handled more than 8 million passengers even during the pandemic year of 2020. The airport's new integrated terminal building, which has so far cost over INR 475 crore, will be capable of processing as many as 2,300 passengers even at peak hours.

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