Brigade group will be opening its Orion Mall, spread around 1.1 million sq ft on four levels, by last quarter of this financial year. The mall is located within the Brigade Gateway lif­estyle enclave, located at Rajaji Nagar–Malleswaram Junction in north Bangalore.

The mall will offer retail spa­ces ranging from 1,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft and will accommodate large, medium and small stores. Amongst a host of attractions in Orion is its proposed street-site design with shops, café, restaurants, food court and an 11 screen multiplex, according to the company.

The mall will house over 140 stores in 35 categories, of which already 75 per cent of stores are leased out, as a mix of revenue sharing and minimum guarantee agreements.

The mall will feature 11 sc­reen PVR multiplex with 3,500 seating capacity, country’s largest bowling alley with 23 lanes, and multi-level car parking that can accommodate 3,000 cars.

Praveen Methil, general manager–mall management, Brigade group, said, “Mall is an experience, shopping center is about shopping. Orion is the only mall in Bangalore that has a two acre lake in front of it. We ensure that not a drop of water goes out of this mall. There will be bridges connecting Sheraton to the mall, WTC to Sheraton, and apartments to the mall. A resident can walk in to the mall, do her shopping and take the trolley right to her kitchen.”

The Bangalore City metro rail is commissioned to be ready by 2011. One of its railway stations will be located outside Brigade Gateway enclave.

Methil, who expects 18-19 million footfalls a month once Orion is open, said security measures at the mall will be taken seriously, given that it is connected to high profile properties like WTC and Sheraton.

“With urbanisation gaining momentum and population increasing, over time, we will get into to mixed-used complexes where you can sustain yourself without stepping out of the place,” Methil further said.

Brigade Gateway, which is a 40 acre township, offers 1,350 residential apartments (of which 50-60 units are left to be sold), with 200+ bed Columbia Asia hospital, Sheraton Star Hotel and World Trade Center.

The company is planning to open a standalone Orion mall of 4-4.5 lakh sq ft in size in Ba­naswadi.

nvasudevan@mydigitalfc.com