Prime land near Hoan Kiem Lake yields tepid retail sales Trang Tien, Dinh Le, Le Thai To streets are areas with so-called golden land plots valued at billions of dollars in Hanoi’s city centre. But the premium real estate has yet to result in sales for retail shops.   Inside the Trang Tien Ice Cream Shop Trang Tien Ice Cream Shop is the busiest shop in the area in the evening, with customers parking their motorbikes inside the shop and standing in a reserved area to eat ice cream. In summer, which is the high sale season, people have to stand on the pavement in front of the shop to eat ice cream under the scorching sun, because there is not enough room inside. The shop is located in one of the most advantageous positions in Hanoi, just hundreds of meters away from the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake. Trang Tien is one of the most beautiful streets of Hanoi. With a length of over 700m, the street hosts many famous brands of such as Trang Tien Plaza, Trang Tien ice cream, Thang Long bookstore, Bodega bakery, and the Cong Nhan Theatre. However, the shop looks old and unchanged compared with tens of years ago. Though it has big sales, the owners have not upgraded the shop. A hotel with a similar name and in similar conditions is located next to the ice cream shop. However, unlike the shop, the hotel is little known by Hanoians. The old look of the ice cream shop and the hotel clearly contrasts with Trang Tien Street, one of the most beautiful and richest streets in Hanoi. Analysts say the golden land area has not brought good luck to its landlords. In 2011, a real estate tycoon, who bought the 1,500 square meter land plot from the Trang Tien Ice Cream Company (which was equitised) announced that he would develop a service complex there with dozens of high-end apartments, which might be priced at $10,000 per square meter. However, the tycoon was arrested. Most recently, Hoang Phat Vissai Company’s website unexpectedly showed that a service & trade complex at 25 Trang Tien Street is one of the company’s investment projects. While waiting for the service & trade complex to be built, Hanoians queue up for their turns to buy ice cream. Hanoians sometimes evoke memories about a beautiful building with a long history on the same street of Trang Tien. At first, it was a shopping mall built by the French, and then became a general department store. In 2002, it was rebuilt as a new-style shopping mall named Trang Tien Plaza. Ironically, Trang Tien Plaza, though located in such an advantageous position, has not had large sales despite heavy investment by its owners. Duy Anh, VNN