Developer to boost retail sector, unveils ‘The Shoppes Mall’ in Lekki

AFTER successful completion of new mall, a developer, Cobble Hill Investment Company, has unveiled the ‘The Shoppes’, which will impact positively on the retail sector of the real estate industry in Lagos.

The mall, located on Market Road, Oniru, Lekki, Lagos, is an ultra-modern lifestyle shopping centre that will cater to the needs of the Oniru and Lekki neighborhoods.

Designed on modern architecture principles that create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere and increased visibility for all storefronts, each store in the newly built mall will measure a minimum of 20sqm, which comes with its own toilet and storage space.

A two-storey building is fitted for small businesses that can allow future growth of real estate investment along the Lekki corridor, which parades 40 modern shops and 10 offices.

Speaking at the unveiling of the facility, Mr. Ojie Imoloame, an Associate (Officer), Locus Real Estate, a division of Locus Promotions, said the development was to cater for small businesses that want premium facilities with the quality ambience.

“Here we have toilets, decent design, clean environment and other facilities. We have the offices at the third floor for architectural firms, estate agency, law firms.”

According to Imoloame, the place is quite affordable, saying the rent goes for N1.3 million for a 20 square metre shop, which is about N60,000 for a square metre. He added that, the rental value was very rare within Oniru or Victoria Island.

“There is market for them because most businesses now want to start small at 20-40 square metres and expand when the need arises. The problem with some of these offices is that the facilities are not there. Parking is an issue, quality of architecture is also an issue and there is, a lot of other limitations. But this facility takes care of all of that. It is easily accessible and in good location. This is a good building that gives flexibility in terms of access to offices,” Imoloame added.

On the suitability of the property, the developer said the facility is good for sizeable legal, small and upcoming firms, saying that, each shop owner would like to do a lease agreement or agreement with their suppliers. “A real estate agency too can locate here and get businesses from sitting tenants and also do his small shopping here. So, this offers a kind of symbiotic relationship among tenants.”

The location, according to the developer, matters a lot for a business, saying the location of the facility was an advantage and a big plus for the potential customers.

He said off-takers have nothing to worry about as far as security was concerned. “What we have done is to secure the building from its design.

If you look at it you see that we have corporate guards that monitor the building. We also have CCTV cameras that also monitor movements within the building. Furthermore, there is a police station down the road, which protects the building and we have easy access to this station. Here, security is assured 24/7.”

Parking of vehicles would not pose any threat, as there are 30 parking lots built along with the facility. “We have adequate arrangement for parking because we know it could be a challenge. The space we have here can park over 30 cars. Also, we have started discussing with the owners of a space across the road for additional parking space for customers/visitors to this place.”

The project, which started in 2014 already, has 2014 and already we have 40 percent occupancy rate. “Now, we have tenant from Access Bank, a major eatery, Homely, a shop selling children’s stuff and lot of others. We knew from the onset that renting is not going to be a problem for us. It is just a matter of getting the right tenant-mix. Because of this, we cannot take another bank or eatery. So far, we have about 50 percent interest.
For sales, we started from N9 million to N30 million for 40 square metres. 20 square metres is selling for N14.7 million.”

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