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In terms of commercial real estate, assuming social distancing measures soon become the new normal.Retail outlets of all kinds will all need to adjust to social distancing norms, allowing for more free space

Opinion | Commercial real estate industry post corona, a kind of vaccine

A couple of years back when the government setup the Smart City Mission, the word “Social Distancing" was never heard and no pandemic of such scale ever considered. The current pandemic and the specific hotspots clearly indicate that it is imperative to do a major urban city extension programme to decongest the central business districts and other hubs which have been most affected by coronavirus. In terms of commercial real estate, assuming social distancing measures soon become the new normal, cinemas, retail stores within malls or local grocery shops may be forced to completely upturn their business models to account for these unprecedented changes. Nowadays, a visit to the grocery store reminds one of the top designer outlets in Paris or Hongkong where normally you have a queue of people waiting outside to enter. Movie multiplexes, cinema theaters, restaurants etc may have to increase the spaces between seats to allow for social distancing measure if they want to be able to function in times of restrictions or be more popular. The barrier to this business model will be the likelihood it will only be feasible for upper management who are in a position to own/rent property and has the adequate space to work from home. The majority of workforces are built on lower paid staff who might find this new shift impossible to adapt for long term. Although many business owners might currently be looking at this as an option to maintain productivity whist slashing overheads, it might turn out to be a pipedream when the realities of post pandemic living resume. The space which is freed up could be utilised to setup some emergency health center, business continuity and disaster management rooms. One of the key factors that will help achieve this will be income tax benefits or other government sops for business including offices and industries to suburban non-hotspot locations.

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