Design mall Ishanya in a raft of tie-ups

Ishanya, the upcoming mall at Yerwada, has tied up with the Indian Institute of Interior Design (IIID), Indian Institute of Architects and National Institute of Design.

While IIID will run its information centre, alumni from NID will provide design consultancy. Also on the anvil are a series of tie-ups with foreign design houses, especially German design houses.

Inderjit Singh Narula, president and chief executive officer of Ishanya Mall, said, "We are getting a lot of interest from foreign design houses and brands and will be finalising our tie-ups soon."

Ishanya, a mega mall dedicated to design and interiors, plans to offer customised design solutions. Right from building materials to furniture and accessories, and even a mock-up design room where one could see what a chosen design will translate into-all these facilities will be available here.

The 5.5 lakh sq ft speciality mall with seven separate buildings devoted to different kinds of building materials and products is the first of its kind in the country and is expected to be ready by the mid 2006.

Said Narula, "With the kind of construction activities going on around western parts of the state, we expect to cater to a whole lot of clients from Mumbai, Thane to Pune."

According to a study by ICICI Bank, the current construction boom in the state will result in some 570 million sq ft of real estate coming into existence by the middle of 2007 in the region between Mumbai and Pune.

According to Narula, the potential for the design industry in the country is huge. He said, "At Rs 500 per sq ft, nearly 570 million sq ft of space coming up between Mumbai-Thane and Pune will result in a market of Rs 28,500 crore."