Mitiska REIM opens sustainability frontrunner retail park in Belgium

The new Malinas development features 19 retail units and one restaurant across 27,500 sq m GLA. The retail park is food-anchored by the first Albert Heijn XL store in Belgium, in addition to a Lidl supermarket. Other tenants represent a mix of national and international brands, including AS Adventure, Vanden Borre, JYSK, Kwantum, Ava, MaxiZoo, 4Murs, Action and C&A.

The retail park features an eye-catching 1.2-hectare reed field, which also serves as a natural rainwater buffer, and over 200 native trees have been planted on site. The entire rear wall of the retail park is covered by a 7-meter-tall eco-green façade and 13,000 sq m of have been transformed into a green roof including 6,300 solar panels. The solar power generated will create annual savings of more than 1,000 tons of CO2.

As part of the development, a new section of cycle track has been built to link to the city center, with the site offering 400 covered bicycle stands with electric charging points. Parking is provided for 900 cars, 350 of which are underground, with 18 electric car charging points.

Jan Du Bois, Investment Director of Mitiska REIM, comments: “We are proud to be a leader in sustainability by opening what is now the greenest and most sustainable retail park in Belgium.”

Axel Despriet, Co-CEO of Mitiska REIM, comments: “Offering accessible locations, affordable buildings and flexible design, we believe retail parks remain an attractive and resilient asset class, and are best placed to work in tandem with e-commerce for omnichannel retailers.”