KOCHI: Panampilly Nagar , one of the most elite and expensive housing colony in the city, is on its way to turn into a high-street market as lifestyle brands having pan-Indian and global presence are vying to open shops here.While ongoing construction activities and traffic congestions are keeping away both retailers and shoppers from the MG Road, Panampilly Nagar has been growing as an alternative destination.The buildings along the NH bypass at Edappally command the highest rentals in the city from retailers and the structures in Panampilly Nagar and MG Road come next. The rentals of buildings on the NH bypass fall in the range of Rs 35 -Rs 350 per sq feet and those in Panampilly Nagar and MG Road get rent in the range of Rs 50-Rs 150 per sq feet.The growth of Panampilly Nagar as a high-street market has been mainly attributed to the presence of households with high disposable income. Retailers identify the market as an upscale location, high on fashion and lifestyle.‘Unravelling Kerala Real Estate: A study on Kochi, Trivandrum and Thrissur’ a study released by Credai said that anecdotal evidences suggest that almost 70% shops belong to operators who have pan-India presence or are international brands, which is amongst the highest, going by high-street standards. “Fashion apparel and fine dining account for dominant share in categories, followed by salon, spa and other lifestyle retailing.”It has also pointed out that generally the oldest tenants along the high streets in the city are local brands, who have been leasing spaces for a long-term. They pay the lowest rentals, which fall in a range of Rs 50-Rs 70 per sq feet. National and international brands pay rentals in the range of Rs 65-120 per sq feet, depending on the node, access to road frontage, brand visibility and store size.However, premium international brands prefer to open shops at the Lulu mall, the biggest shopping mall in the city. The rentals are very high here and ‘ground floor rentals could go as high as Rs 550 per sq feet’, said the study released by Credai. The three other shopping malls in the city-Oberon mall, Centre Square mall and Nucleus mall commands rent in the range of Rs 50-Rs 120 per sq feet.In Thiruvananthapuram, the MG Road and its extension command rental in the range of Rs 45-150 per sq feet and building along NH Bypass fetches rent in the range of Rs 35-80 per sq feet. The Swaraj Round and extension in Thrissur are rented out in the range of Rs 75-150 per sq feet.

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