Kolkata's Quest for luxe mall to end in August

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka group’s debut project in luxury malls will be CESC-built Quest (nee Galleria) in Kolkata which will open in August.

Spread over 3 acres, Quest offers 4.15 lakh square.feet of retail area. Average rental of Rs 130 per square feet is expected to generate Rs 70 crore in the first full year of operations, CESC sources said in a presentation to investors.

The project cost, meanwhile, has ballooned to Rs 375 crore from the initial estimate of Rs 250 crore. But CESC has tied up 92% of the expected number of tenants already.

A Spencer’s hypermarket would act as anchor tenant. Major foreign brands figure among prominent tenants: FCUK, Burberry, Canali, Omega, Bretling, Jimmy Choo, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica and Lacoste, CESC officials said.

Quest will also have an entertainment zone, multiplex of Inox, food court, fine dining area and a multi-level car park for 900 vehicles.

Designed by RTKL, a British architectural firm, and built by L&T, Quest benefits from free land as the plot at Syed Amir Ali Avenue is owned by a fully owned subsidiary of CESC.

Conceived as a joint venture between Sanjiv Goenka and Godrej in 2006, Galleria/Quest saw the latter  exit the project soon after.

CESC then formed a 100% subsidiary, CESC Properties, which received some 40 acres and a mandate to monetise the idle land bank. The land became available following closure of old power plants like the one in Mulajore and other office spaces in and around Kolkata.

Quest’s holding firm CESC Properties holds a 100% stake in Metromark Green Commodities which plans to construct a 45,000 sq ft warehouse in Howrah.