"Build it and they will come" said the character that Kevin Costner played in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, a quote which also seems to be the byword for the management of PT Grand Indonesia, which is constructing a 7-hectare hotel-apartment- shopping mall-office complex in the city center.
But in times of economic downturn like these, and with many other malls under construction, will they really come?
Grand Indonesia managing director Frans H. Lazaro thinks so.
"People will come wherever there are shopping malls. The more there are in one location, the more people will come. Just take a look at what happened in Singapore," he said on Thursday.
Built beside the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, the Grand Indonesia complex is in a prime spot, although it will be in direct competition with neighboring Plaza Indonesia and Plaza EX.
"We have a very strong location here, and I think instead of being in competition with the Plaza Indonesia complex, we will complement each other," Frans said on the sidelines of an event to introduce Grand Indonesia to prospective tenants.
The Rp 2.3 trillion (about US$230 million) complex is being built on the property of the historic Hotel Indonesia and the former state-owned Hotel Wisata. PT Grand Indonesia -- 75 percent owned by cigarette-maker PT Djarum through its subsidiary PT Cipta Karya Bumi Indah -- will operate the complex through a 30- year built-operation-transfer (BOT) agreement with the government.
When it opens in September 2006, the complex will boast the largest high-end shopping mall in the country, with 150,000 square meters of rentable space, and at 57 floors, will be the tallest office tower in Indonesia.
To date, about 60 percent of the shopping space has been rented, the largest tenant being Thailand's Central Department Store that rented 41,000 square meters.
Renji Betari, an employee of PT CB Richard Ellis Indonesia -- Grand Indonesia's marketing agent -- said the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town would comprise of two malls connected by a bridge over Jl. Teluk Betung.
Mall A, located on the HI traffic circle, will house high-end boutiques, while the building replacing Hotel Wisata will be used for entertainment and leisure, including a movie theater chain from Singapore.
Hotel Indonesia -- the country's first high-rise hotel -- was constructed in 1959 with war reparations from Japan. The work was undertaken by Japan's Taisei Corporation and in 1961, the New York-based Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation took over management. The Hotel Indonesia Inter-Continental officially opened on Aug. 5, 1962.
The renovations to Hotel Indonesia that are currently underway are meant to bring back the hotel to its original condition, removing the additional lobby canopy that architects say has ruined the modernist design.
And the new high-rise structure around it would be designed to harmoniously compliment the original building's modernism, Frans said.
"All of the hotel's original architecture will be preserved, but we have to change the material because the existing material is already more than 40 years old."
This time around, Singapore's The Fullerton group will manage the hotel, creating a five-star Hotel Indonesia The Fullerton. The chain was chosen because it was experienced in managing hotels designed on heritage buildings, Frans said.
The Fullerton will also manage Grand Indonesia's luxury serviced apartments.
The department store, Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, has a target market that includes 28 percent of Jakarta's citizens, at least 5 percent of Indonesia's population, and foreign visitors.