Lancelot Mall: Raising the bar to meet soaring demand

Nigeria’s retail market has, in the past couple of years, seen what has been described as ‘a revolution’ with rising interest and demand from both local and international retailers for real estate space.

In response to this growing demand, real estate developers and investors are also shifting interest to retail malls. This explains Lancelot Ventures’ recent strategic decision to upgrade its Lancelot Plaza, by as much as 40 percent increase in size and cost, to a relatively standard mall.

Formerly designed to be just “another business plaza”, with a budget cost of about N250 million, Lancelot Business Plaza, now Lancelot Mall, is expected to cost about N350 million as a result of new innovations, configurations and exciting aesthetics that will be infused in the new mall to meet the needs of contemporary shoppers.

Outstanding in the new project design is the transformation of the earlier planned open-air space designed as car-parking lots into a fully air-conditioned atrium aimed at improving visibility for shoppers and availing them of a convenient shopping experience.

The atrium, which is about 30 feet wide and 60 feet long, according to the building plan, would also come with an internal bridge where customers could relax, adding flair to the mall’s aesthetics.

“We saw the need to re-design what we initially put out because it was just like another shopping plaza, but we believe there is a need to give the Arepo community an uncommon shopping experience,” Adebayo Adeleke, CEO, Lancelot Ventures, told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.

“To accommodate some of these innovations, we also had to increase our landmass from 2,643 square metres to 3,328 square metres. This is to avail clients and customers more ample parking space which, we believe, is important in every mall,” he added.

Positioning as the first of its kind on the axis, the mall will notably attract development and also provide some basic amenities, such as banks, that had eluded the Arepo community for a long while.

“Our anchor retailer is JustRite, an indigenous retailer which will occupy about 20 percent of the entire mall. Other off-takers include KFC, Chicken Republic and Any Colour International,” the developer further disclosed, adding that over 40 percent of retail spaces at the mall had been subscribed to.

Facilities to be expected at the mall on completion include uninterrupted power supply, ample parking space and closed circuit television (CCTV).

“Currently, we are awaiting the approval of the state government before we commence construction. The construction will last for 12 months, and we have 28 shops with the minimum measuring 15 square metre. On completion, each square metre on the mall will sell for N200,000,” Adeleke informed.

ODINAKA MBONU