Al Ain's oldest mall to get new look under expansion plan

Al Ain's Jimi Mall will undergo a massive refurbishment programme that would dismantle old structures to pave the way for a new facilities besides giving a new look to the most frequented shopping destination. The new construction includes a refurbishment for the existing mall, including entrances, public spaces, canopies, flooring, toilets, food court and sightlines.
Located in heart of the garden city, the mall is the most frequented shopping and entertainment destination offering families and shoppers a wide variety of their favourite brands and dining facilities.
The project includes expansion to the north side of the mall; the 'retail park' will consist of three huge retail boxes with sizes range from 1,500 to 6,500 square metres designed in a flexible way to accommodate different retailers' area requirements, family dining and coffee shops. An event plaza and a front-door on grade parking for more than a thousand additional cars are also part of the project.
The project will include an expansion to the west side of the mall; the 'west wing' adding 51 new units over three levels. This will provide additional retail space as well as new dining and entertainment outlets to increase number of visitors at Al Jimi Mall and reinforce its position as a modern shopping destination in Al Ain. In order to make it happen, the real estate developer Aldar Properties recently awarded a contract valuing Dh318 million to Pivot Construction Company.
The development project will also add an additional leased space of 33,000 square metres GLA bringing the total leased area to 76,000 square metres of retail space; more than 50 per cent of this new space is already committed to new tenants excited to operate at the popular mall.
The expansion work will be completed by end of the first quarter of 2018. This investment is the latest component of Aldar's recently announced Dh3 billion investment strategy. The fully occupied mall has an annual footfall of eight million visitors and this investment will bring new retailers to Al Ain as well as enhancing the overall shopping experience.
Talal Al Dhiyebi, chief development officer at Aldar Properties, said: "We aim to catch up with the very strong consumer demand Al Jimi Mall is enjoying.
- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com