An artist’s impression of Lake Mall

The Rs 70-crore Lake Mall, an urban renewal initiative to transform the decaying Lake Market into an organised retail-social rendezvous, will be unveiled early next year.

The mall will have a four-screen multiplex by Fun Republic, a 40,000-sq ft Big Bazaar as anchor, a two-level outlet of apparel chain Globus, speciality dining and fresh vegetables, fish and meat in a “cleaner, formatted ambience”.

The first civic market to be handed over by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) to a private realtor for redevelopment, the Lake Market revival project deal was inked by former mayor Subrata Mukherjee with Venkatesh Foundation.

“The brief from the CMC was to protect the interests of the 300-odd shopkeepers and improve civic conditions inside the open market on the ground floor. Around 250 shop-owners will be rehabilitated on the ground level and the rest who want to leave are being compensated,” Piyush Bhagat, a director in Venkatesh Foundation, tells Metro.

The renewal, being carried out through public-private partnership (PPP), entails erection of a G+6 structure, with a floor-plate of 33,000 sq ft on each level. The ground level will remain an open market for fresh produce, fish and meats and daily needs, to be catered by the existing shop-owners.

Big Bazaar will take up space on the first and second levels, and Globus on the second and third, across 10,000 sq ft. The mall will also house shoe brands like Reebok and Adidas, besides popular brands like Archies, Turtle and Rolex Opticals.

Fun Republic from the Zee TV group will operate the cineplex on the fifth floor, which will share the floor-plate with two speciality restaurants. A 13,000-sq ft food court on the fourth level will be franchised to Hangout, a brand of the Ambuja Realty group.

The CMC will be handed over 10,000 sq ft inside the complex. “We are planning to set up a citizens’ service centre there, which will provide a computerised database of all civic amenities and facilities in that area,” says Aroop Mandal, the deputy manager (PPP) of the CMC.

The mall, being designed by J.P. Agrawal, will have seismic zone III-compliant RCC frame structure, contemporary glass-and-aluminium façade with colourful panels on all four sides, colonial-style interiors, foyer with granite flooring and a large freight lift from basement to all floors.

The lifts and escalators will connect the ground-floor central lobby with each of the upper levels, with convenient seating alcoves on every floor. “Lake Mall won’t have high-end frills you would find in a luxury mall, but will boast all the basic comfort tools one expects in an organised retail place,” promises Bhagat.