Jaya Shopping Centre offers dedicated zone for entrepreneurs

PETALING JAYA: Jaya Shopping Centre (JSC) is doing its part to support entrepreneurism by dedicating a zone for the “nouveau entrepreneurs”.

“Jaya Shopping Centre was the first trading post for many local homegrown retailers. It was at Jaya Shopping Centre where they started and had their first big break. Three decades later, many of these retailers have become retail stars. And we have the privilege of having many of them returning to Jaya Shopping Centre”, said Ismail Ani Arope, director of Jaya Section Fourteen Sdn Bhd, in a statement.

JSC is offering smaller units of 100 sq ft to 800 sq ft for rent to young retailers with interesting and unique merchandises.

“Due to the compact sizes of these units which translate into affordable monthly rental charges, these young entrepreneurs may be able to manage their cash flows. We encourage young entrepreneurs who have aspirations to have a presence in a retail centre to approach our exclusive leasing agent DTZ Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants with their concepts,” said Ismail.

The dedicated zone is located on Level 4 and emphasises fun and creativity, breaking the rules of normal straight shop fronts, tiled floor and lightings in a regular arrangement. Ismail said the shops will be irregular in size and shape.

The new JSC has a net leasable area of 270,000 sq ft, which is almost double the retail space of the previous centre.

“As a mid-sized, mid-end neighbourhood shopping centre, Jaya Shopping Centre is perfect for shoppers who have an aversion to huge malls. As a community-based retail centre, we want to inspire and empower entrepreneurs to follow their passions to be part of the vibrant and connected Jaya Shopping Centre,” said Ismail.

JSC will feature a retail mix of dining concepts, supermarket, cinema and entertainment, sportswear and fashion, children’s toys and gifts, beauty and wellness spas, electronics and gadgets, and a banking hall over seven floors targeting the established Petaling Jaya market. To date, Jaya Shopping Centre has achieved a take-up rate of close to 80%.

It will have prominent five levels of glass curtain wall fronting Jalan Semangat for visibility and interactivity between retailers and shoppers. The verandah seating space on Level 3 and the food and beverage zone give tenants an alfresco dining concept, and the skylight introduces natural light into the shopping centre.

“Every design decision was made with the aim of meeting the taste, lifestyle and demographics of the new PJ generation of retailers and consumers. As PJ has been upgraded over the decades, so must her iconic Jaya Shopping Centre. We want the new generation of  the PJ community to feel proud of this new retail centre and aim to meet its reputation of being a quality lifestyle hub, shopping spot, a casual hangout and a natural rendezvous point,” Ismail said.

“Our positioning remains. Jaya Shopping Centre will again become the favourite neighbourhood shopping place, a home outside a home for the PJ population who live and work in and around PJ and will continue to create strong ties with the community and the next generation,” he said.

JSC is scheduled to open in March next year. It will have four levels of basement parking with 780 bays. Built on an island site, the shopping centre will have dedicated ingress and egress lanes built parallel to Jalan 14/17 and Jalan Datuk Jamil Rais 15.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 27, 2013.