Grand Indonesia offers new shopping experience<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"Build it and they will come\" said the character that Kevin
\nCostner played in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, a quote which
\nalso seems to be the byword for the management of PT Grand
\nIndonesia, which is constructing a 7-hectare hotel-apartment-
\nshopping mall-office complex in the city center.<\/p>\n
But in times of economic downturn like these, and with many
\nother malls under construction, will they really come?<\/p>\n
Grand Indonesia managing director Frans H. Lazaro thinks so.<\/p>\n
\"People will come wherever there are shopping malls. The more
\nthere are in one location, the more people will come. Just take a
\nlook at what happened in Singapore,\" he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Built beside the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central
\nJakarta, the Grand Indonesia complex is in a prime spot, although
\nit will be in direct competition with neighboring Plaza Indonesia
\nand Plaza EX.<\/p>\n
\"We have a very strong location here, and I think instead of
\nbeing in competition with the Plaza Indonesia complex, we will
\ncomplement each other,\" Frans said on the sidelines of an event
\nto introduce Grand Indonesia to prospective tenants.<\/p>\n
The Rp 2.3 trillion (about US$230 million) complex is being
\nbuilt on the property of the historic Hotel Indonesia and the
\nformer state-owned Hotel Wisata. PT Grand Indonesia -- 75 percent
\nowned by cigarette-maker PT Djarum through its subsidiary PT
\nCipta Karya Bumi Indah -- will operate the complex through a 30-
\nyear built-operation-transfer (BOT) agreement with the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
When it opens in September 2006, the complex will boast the
\nlargest high-end shopping mall in the country, with 150,000
\nsquare meters of rentable space, and at 57 floors, will be the
\ntallest office tower in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
To date, about 60 percent of the shopping space has been
\nrented, the largest tenant being Thailand's Central Department
\nStore that rented 41,000 square meters.<\/p>\n
Renji Betari, an employee of PT CB Richard Ellis Indonesia --
\nGrand Indonesia's marketing agent -- said the Grand Indonesia
\nShopping Town would comprise of two malls connected by a bridge
\nover Jl. Teluk Betung.<\/p>\n
Mall A, located on the HI traffic circle, will house high-end
\nboutiques, while the building replacing Hotel Wisata will be used
\nfor entertainment and leisure, including a movie theater chain
\nfrom Singapore.<\/p>\n
Hotel Indonesia -- the country's first high-rise hotel -- was
\nconstructed in 1959 with war reparations from Japan. The work was
\nundertaken by Japan's Taisei Corporation and in 1961, the New
\nYork-based Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation took over
\nmanagement. The Hotel Indonesia Inter-Continental officially
\nopened on Aug. 5, 1962.<\/p>\n
The renovations to Hotel Indonesia that are currently underway
\nare meant to bring back the hotel to its original condition,
\nremoving the additional lobby canopy that architects say has
\nruined the modernist design.<\/p>\n
And the new high-rise structure around it would be designed to
\nharmoniously compliment the original building's modernism, Frans
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"All of the hotel's original architecture will be preserved,
\nbut we have to change the material because the existing material
\nis already more than 40 years old.\"<\/p>\n
This time around, Singapore's The Fullerton group will manage
\nthe hotel, creating a five-star Hotel Indonesia The Fullerton.
\nThe chain was chosen because it was experienced in managing
\nhotels designed on heritage buildings, Frans said.<\/p>\n
The Fullerton will also manage Grand Indonesia's luxury
\nserviced apartments.<\/p>\n
The department store, Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, has a
\ntarget market that includes 28 percent of Jakarta's citizens, at
\nleast 5 percent of Indonesia's population, and foreign visitors.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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