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R. Balaji

Chennai, June 10 Gaiety Cinema, one of Chennai’s earliest cinemas, is set to give way to a shopping-cum-office complex.

The property of three-fourth acre located off Anna Salai, valued at over Rs 70 crore, is to be jointly developed by Palace Investments, a Chennai-based property developer, and the cinema’s owner.

The new structure, Gaiety Palace will be a 100,000 sq.ft building housing premium shopping space and offices, according to Mr Gokul R Bathija, Partner, Palace Investments.

Mr Bathija said the agreement providing for the property owner taking a 60 per cent share of built-up space and the builders 40 per cent has been finalised. The structure of two basements, ground and six floors will have about 18 offices and over 40 shops – each in multiples of 750 sq.ft – for premium brands.

The Gaiety Cinema, the third to begin screening movies in the city, and the first full time cinema, according to city historians, was a land mark in the entertainment industry. It now joins a long list of single screen cinemas that have closed down with the change in market trends and growth of multiplexes. Gaiety started screening movies in 1914 with the last screening in 2003.

Its location in the vicinity of Anna Salai, an arterial road in the heart of the city, has attracted the interest of the market. The project is to be launched after statutory approvals by the year-end, he said.

According to market sources, as of now leased shop space on Anna Salai fetches around Rs 40 a square feet a month down from last year’s peak of about Rs 65-70 when the markets were relatively buoyant. But with the market expected to pick up in the coming months, the premium location is an advantage.

Estimates of value of the property of 33,600 sq.ft ranges around Rs 4.5-5 crore a ground (2,400 sq.ft a ground) under current depressed market conditions.

More Stories on : Real Estate & Construction | Cinema | Shopping | Tamil Nadu

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