Seawood Grand Central – a shopping-cum-IT hub – is slowly turning out to be the biggest attraction for the residents of Navi Mumbai. Since phase I of the project was started on March 23, over 4.2 lakh people have walked into the mall
Authorities expect the mall to be a bigger crowd-puller as phase II of the project becomes operational
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Seawood Grand Central – a shopping-cum-IT hub – is slowly turning out to be the biggest attraction for the residents of Navi Mumbai. Since phase I of the project was started on March 23, over 4.2 lakh people have walked into the mall.
Authorities expect it to be a bigger crowd-puller, as phase II of the project becomes operational in the next 18 months.
Direct connection
Speaking to mid-day, senior vice president, Operations, Nexus Malls, Nirzar Jain said that the project has a total development area of 2.7 million square feet. "It is India's first transit-oriented development mall as it's directly connected to the railway station. Soon, it will become the hub of Navi Mumbai, as it will be connected to both the Panvel and Uran routes," he said.
Jain further added, "Around 92 brands have opened their stores and in the next two months, an additional 60 brands will come up.
A couple of international brands will also come up with their stores for the very first time in Navi Mumbai. The phase II of the project will have a multiplex, gaming zone and IT offices, and all of it will be directly connected to the railway station."
Just checking
Color Plus store manager Ismail Manchekar (35) said, "It will take another six months for the mall to be fully operational. As it is new, many people move in to just check out the space. We depend on the crowd from NRI Colony, Kharghar and Panvel areas, as earlier they had to travel all the way to Vashi and Mumbai, to experience the mall culture."
Speaking about the turnout at the mall, McDonald's assistant manager Firdaus Warsi said, "Compared to weekdays, the sale is much more during weekends. The crowd is increasing with each passing day. Most people visit the mall in the evening."
Saving time and money
Financial analyst in an IT company, Abhishek Roy Chowdhary, who frequently uses the subway that connects the station to the mall said, "It's easy for many people to shop at the mall and then directly head to the station. It saves a lot of time and money as well. But the process will be much smoother when the new ticket counters and mall become fully operational. Now people have to buy tickets from the old counter behind the mall, which often becomes a problem," he added.
Many unaware
Twenty-four-year-old Oindrila Chakraborty, a resident of Airoli, was excited when she found out the way from the station that led to the mall. "Many people are still not aware of it. Last week, I got to know about it when I had gone out with friends. This will definitely increase the footfall in the mall."
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