The first phase of the Plaza with three lakh square feet of office space and shopping area was completed in 1992 and the second phase with four lakh square feet of space was commissioned in August 1998. Spencer & Co does not have a financial stake in the project which is said to involve a capital outlay of Rs 400 crore funded by developers Mangal Tirth Estates Ltd.

The success of Spencer Plaza in being able to corner such a large area of prime property is partly due to a quirk of fate and partly to limitations imposed bybureaucracy. A fire in the Spencer & Co. building back in 1984 destroyed almost everything. Spencer then decided to demolish the old building and put up a new block in that space. But the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA) imposed certain restrictions on construction at the time.

When Mangal Tirth Estates was brought in by Spencer's around 1987-88, something like a joint venture was thought of for developing the place. The arrangement then was that Spencer would be given 1.50 lakh square feet of developed space in the new building. Mangal Tirth also later paid Rs 24 crore to Spencer towards the cost of the land. ``We had to split the building into two separate blocks because in those days MMDA had a restriction of 100 metres on the height of a building. So we were forced to develop the complex in two separate blocks in distinct phases,'' says Mangal Tirth Estates Ltd's vice-chairman V. Kalyanaraman.

The plaza now boasts of big names in retailing like Tata enterprise West Side, the RPGGroup's Food World and Music World, Health & Glow, Van Heusen, Proline, Arrow, Adidas and many other retailers dealing in jewellery, cosmetics, leather goods, handicrafts, domestic appliances etc.

The plaza has been designed to offer maximum comfort to the shoppers. The centrally airconditioned mall is equipped with escalators and glass capsule lifts; aesthetic atriums; information desks; a cafeteria; and a multi-level car park. Office units are spread between the fourth and the seventh floor.

Currently, developers are charging a commercial rate of between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 per square foot of space occupied. Retail outlets positioned alongside the atriums attract an additional premium of 15 per cent on the commercial rate.

While retailing in India has not developed like Wall Mart and K Mart in US or Marks & Spencers in the UK, Kalyanaraman says: ``Our ambitious shopping mall cannot be replicated anywhere else. Every day Spencer Plaza attracts about 15,000 to 20,000 visitors with buying power andthat is the biggest advertisement for all those who display their products in the shops here.''