Red-hot growth in Edappally
| With two shopping malls and several other commercial and residential projects in the offing, Edappally is witnessing a huge development boom. |
New areas of growth are emerging in Kochi as the spotlight turns to less-congested, but accessible places away from the heart of the city. As such, importance of Edappally seems to be growing because of its strategic location — bang on the intersection from where National Highway 47 leaves the city and National Highway 17 can be reached.
The quiet residential place till recently is now a beehive of activity. With at least two malls coming up at the Edappally junction and another one near the junction on the National Highway bypass, developers make it a hub of commercial spaces. Edappally may turn into a city area weaning away a big chunk of shoppers now going to Kochi proper.
Mall culture
The Lulu International Shopping Mall will be spread over 16 acres (one acre = 0.4 hectare). The complex is not going to be all concrete, and hence an unlikely eyesore. It will have a beautifully landscaped area, says Babu Varghese, project director.
The mall will house not just a shopping arena, food courts and a multiplex but also a 20-storey five-star business hotel. The hospitality section is mainly aimed at accommodating travelling businessmen, so that they need not go to tourist hotels for a day’s stay.
The shopping hypermarket on three floors will be of 10 lakh sq.ft. The ground floor will span 3 lakh sq.ft.
“People do not like to go high up while shopping. It is a different matter going to offices in high-rise buildings,” Mr. Varghese says. The multiplex will have seven theatres.
The food courts on the top floor will seat 3,000 to 4,000 people.
Lulu plans to bring in 18 food courts to the city. The palate of the people will decide which food will stay and which not, Mr. Varghese says. Thai, Arabic, Continental, Chinese, North Indian, South Indian and several other cuisines will be on the menu.
The plans for amenities are in the making, and a children’s play area and more entertainment options are expected.
To carry people smoothly, escalators, travellators, lifts and staircases will be provided.
One of the most important aspects that will be looked into is the movement of traffic into the mall and out so that the adjacent main roads do not get crowded, Mr. Varghese says. To achieve this, the mall will open to National Highway 47 and the road leading to the other highway.
A good amount of thought has gone into providing parking areas. The basement area alone can accommodate 1,500 cars.
The other mall coming up at the Edappally junction is the Grand Cochin Mall, promoted by Hilite Builders and APK Builders in a joint venture. The mall is being built on 1.32 acres of land and will have a built-up area of 2,43,000 sq.ft and a saleable area of 1,28,708 sq.ft on four floors.
The centrally air-conditioned building will have 94 shopping spaces and a spacious car parking area. There will be an entertainment zone and fine dining spaces. It will be an attractive shopping destination where mega brands and mega shoppers will meet, says P.V. Arshad, chief executive officer of APK Builders.
“Edappally is already marked for major development and the Edappally-Vyttila road is going to be the major commercial hub of the city,” he says.
As growth on Mahatma Gandhi Road and Banerji Road has slowed because of lack of space, the city is finding new commercial areas for development, Mr. Arshad says.
Edappally is a place that provides easy access to the city as well as that takes you away from it with little trouble of getting caught in the traffic jam.
The Grand Cochin Mall will provide two basements for parking.
The food courts will house eight counters with a seating capacity of 150 people. The anchor stores in the mall will have area of 10,000 sq.ft.
Residential buildings
Edappally has good road infrastructure, says Abdul Azeez, managing director of Skyline Builders. When the National Highway 17 connectivity comes through, Edappally will truly become the gateway to the city. Skyline has been promoting it as a residential area for some time.
It provides easy access to all places, whether it be the core city area, the Kaloor bus stand, the airport, the Seaport-Airport Road, SmartCity or the NH bypass.
As the city areas expand, Edappally, with the four-lane main road, has become the nerve centre of activity even as Kakkanad continues to draw builders.
With commercial activity moving away from the core city areas, the place will soon become a city, Mr. Azeez says.
Already enjoying success here is National Builders. The major projects National Pearlstar and National Gemstone have been launched with about 35 per cent of the space sold out. Yet another one, National Metropolis, is in the pipeline.
One project is coming up on 1.5 acres of land and will have a built-up space spread over seven floors. A three-level parking area has been planned, comprising basement and roof parking and ground-level parking for a hundred cars.
Builders have earlier constructed shopping complexes and residential projects in Edappally.
The 10- to 12-floor complexes have 60 to 70 flats. There are three ongoing residential projects.
Development on such a scale will add pressure on existing infrastructure. If the local authorities maintain a regular check, and if residents associations keep a vigil, the residents can ensure that the character of the place is not lost.
SHYAMA RAJAGOPAL
More Facts About Edappally
Edappally is a fast growing suburb of Kochi/Cochin City in Kerala state, southern India. Edappally was the seating place of the Edapally Rajas, the ruler of this place. Edapally Palace also has the famous Edapally Ganapathy Temple. The town is famous for St. George's Church which is quiet old and is a pilgrimage centre. Perandoor Temple, Thrickovil Sree Krishna Temple, Puthukkalavattam Mahadeva Temple, Punnakkal Bhagavathy Temple, Ponekkara Bhagavathy Temple are important places of worship. Elamakkara Lourdh Matha church is the other noticed worship place, which has a history over a 100 years. Edappally mosque (more than 1000 years old) and many other old buildings are preserved in Edappally.
It is the home town of the famous Malayalam poets Changampuzha Krishna Pillai and Edappally Raghavan Pillai. One of the most famous Malayalam poet Mr. Balachandran Chullikkad and his wife Vijayalakshmi, herself a great poetess, are staying here. The first meeting of Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishath (the organisation of Malayalam writers) was organised here by the then Edappally Raja (Krishna Raja), with the support of different Malayalam writers such as K.P. Karunakara Menon, Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, etc.
Two national highways NH 47 and NH 17 join the bypass jn at Edappally. At Edappally, The National Highway NH-17 begins and continues up to Panvel, Maharashtra, in India. Edapally is also connected by rail, and there is a railway station at Edappally.
One of the best hospitals in Kerala named Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences is situated in Edappally. Edappally was a Panchayath before getting included in Cochin Corporation. This is a place which comes partly under Thripunithura legislative constituency and partly under Ernakulam constituency. The Cochin bypass connects Edappaly with Aroor which is an industrial town near the city of Cochin. Bypass Junction in Edappally is the north end of the Cochin bypass which extends up to Aroor. This entire root is evolving into a major business hub with bigtime stores and five star hotels. Outlets of Mercedes, Hyundai, Maruty, etc. are situated on the road. The world famous museum of Kerala History and sculpture is also located in Edappally (outside the city limits). Thrikkakkara temple is only 2 kilometers away from Edappally Toll junction.
Major residential areas in and around edappally:
- Elamakkara
- Ponekkara
- Edapally Toll
- Mamangalam
- Changampuzha Nagar
- Subhash Nagar
- Keerthi Nagar
- Netaji Nagar
- KP Nagar
- AKG Road
- Mythri nagar
- Prashanthi Nagar
- Campion school
- Bhavans Elamakkara
- Al Ameen School
- Edappally High School
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