Projects & Openings Europe

FRANCE | Créteil Soleil

The Créteil Soleil shopping center was opened near Paris in 1974. Klépierre bought it in 1991.

It currently houses around 124,000 sq m and 5,200 parking spaces. Créteil Soleil is easily accessible via two highways, a subway line, and 10 bus routes. Its 221 retail units, many services, and a 12-screen UGC movie theater attract more than 20.3 million visitors per year.

The mall is now set to grow by 10,300 sq m. The extension will be located at the main entrance, welcoming 35% of the footfall. Spread over two floors, it will create a connection between the subway station and the heart of the center.

The program consists in 18 new retail premises, 12 restaurants, and six new screens (extending the existing 12-screen cinema and boosting its capacity to 3,650 seats). Customer paths will be improved together with perfect synergy between the food court and the cinema. Completion is planned for 2019.

POLAND | Forum Gdańsk

Forum Gdańsk is currently under development in Gdańsk city center and will be a destination comprising a retail complex and modern public spaces.

The project is designed to revitalize the historic areas of the former Hay and Crayfish markets. The development includes the construction of the “Kunszt Wodny” tourism and cultural center, a new public transport hub, and redesigned road infrastructure around the complex.

It is being implemented by three partners working in cooperation: Multi Poland, the Gdańsk Municipal Authorities, and PKP, the Polish State Railways. Construction work commenced in autumn 2014 with the grand opening planned for 2018. Forum Gdańsk will offer 62,000 sq m of GLA, housing some 220 stores, the Tricity’s largest multiscreen cinema, a fitness club, restaurants and cafés, and a parking garage with 1,100 spaces.

A new public space will be created within the complex: an urban square with restaurants and cafés and an open-access promenade running along the revitalized banks of the Radunia canal. Modern office space will also be developed in the project’s later phase.

Thanks to the strategic location in the very center of the Polish city and easy access to public transport, flagship stores, and restaurants and cafés, Forum Gdańsk should become a lively and attractive place to meet, shop, and relax for the Tricity’s residents and tourists alike.

GERMANY | PEP

TH Real Estate and ECE have started the extensive modernization of the PEP shopping center in Munich Neuperlach.

The ceilings, lighting, and furnishings of the existing mall are being renewed to bring the center up to date and create a pleasant, contemporary atmosphere. New seating arrangements, sanitary facilities, a children’s play area, and other measures should also help to improve the quality of stay.

The work takes place primarily at night, so that the mall’s normal operation is ensured during the day. Modernization is another building block in the shopping center’s holistic repositioning. It also includes expanding and improving the tenant mix and the relaunch of the marketing and service concept.

The refurbishment complements the ongoing enlargement of the mall and aims to adapt the appearance of the existing portion of the building to that of PEP’s expansion, work on which began in August 2016. Around €12 million are being invested just in the modernization of the existing areas.

The expansion will increase the center’s sales area by 7,900 sq m to almost 58,000 sq m. The north parking garage was demolished in 2016 to make room for the extension. Alternative parking spaces are available to customers across the street on Hanns-Seidel-Platz while construction is in progress.

The refurbishment and expansion are to be completed by spring 2018. The conversion was planned by ECE, which has been PEP’s center manager since 1989; the design comes from the architectural office Broadway Malyan.

RUSSIA | Riviera

The Riviera Shopping & Entertainment Center was opened in the Russian capital on March 24.

It is located on the Moscow River embankment and one of the city’s main highways, the Third Transport Ring Road. The architecture, efficient layouts, and panoramic views of the river make it a promising project. The numbers should pave the way to success: The GLA amounts to approximately 100,000 sq m.

There are more than 300 shops, cafes, and restaurants spread over three levels, and the basement contains a parking garage with 3,000 spaces. In addition, one should not forget the catchment area, which includes 3.7 million people within 30 minutes. Riviera LLC acts as the developer, the architect is 5+ design, and Renaissance Construction is handling construction.

The most keenly awaited retailers included the Japanese fashion label Uniqlo. Nina Yakobashvili, Riviera’s leasing director, commented: “This is a significant addition to our fashion tenants, who also opened stores from their well-known brands this spring: US Polo Assn., Baon, Lime, Finn Flare.”

SERBIA | Ada Mall

Ada Mall, by GTC, will be built in the City of Belgrade. The development borders on Visoka Street on the south, Radnicka Street on the north, and Pastroviceva Street on the east.

The new shopping destination spans over five floors of commercial space, with three levels of underground parking linked to the scheme. With a total GLA of more than 34,000 sq m, Ada Mall will be home to retail units over three floors, with restaurants and additional facilities such as multipurpose spaces on the top levels, which will have separate opening hours to the rest of the center, creating “new-world” nightlife.

When night falls, the city oasis rich in nature transforms into a destination surrounded by restaurants and bars. Ada Mall’s fourth floor will be the new place to be for those looking to relax in Belgrade any night of the week.

The architectural language of the building is inspired by its surroundings. This is reflected not only in the shape and style of the scheme’s design, but also in the choice of materials—a combination of glass and painted plaster covered by vertical wooden elements, green walls, green terraces, and gardens.

More than 1,000 parking spaces are set to be included within the development. A uniform distribution of circulation, both vertically and horizontally, is achieved with escalators through the central atrium as well as vertical lifts located at either end of the shopping center, which connect the car park in the underground levels to the roof garden. Ada Mall’s opening is planned for the third quarter of 2018.

POLAND | Janki

Cromwell Property Group will extend the Janki Shopping Centre into a 100,000-sq-m prime retail destination located in Warsaw.

The €65-million expansion will add 21,000 sq m of space across 71 units, 70% of the area of which has already been pre-let to a range of fashion retailers, including Inditex group (Zara, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Bershka, Oysho), LPP group (Reserved, Mohito, Cropp, House, Sinsay), and other tenants like Rossmann, Świat Książki, English Home, Jubitom, CCC, Pizza Hut, Superpharm, Costa Coffee, Home&You, Martes Sport, Okaidi Obaibi, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Yes, Tea&Tea, Pandora, Blue Diamond, Sun Loox, Telakces, HopChop, MAC, and Mennica. The existing mall is anchored by an Auchan hypermarket and other retailers including H&M, C&A, and Go Sport.

As one of Poland’s first shopping centers, Janki opened in 1999 and has maintained strong occupancy ever since, averaging close to 100%. The financing for the extension has been provided by HSBC/PBB banks and the general contractor responsible for the construction is Strabag. The completion of the project is expected prior to Easter 2019 and will be run in two separate phases. The operators at the existing scheme will not be impacted by the extension and the mall will remain open for business during this period.

Karol Pilniewicz, Head of CEE, Cromwell Property Group, commented: “Janki occupies a prime location in an established retail destination zone south of Warsaw, with on-site entertainment and good car parking facilities. We have been delighted by the strong level of interest from a broad range of international fashion retailers since we first announced our plans to develop the center.” Janki is part of the Cromwell Polish Retail Fund (CPRF).

GERMANY | Löhr-Center

Fancier, cleaner, more modern: The redesigned Löhr-Center in Koblenz re-opened on March 2 following a two-year refurbishment. The comprehensive modernization amounts to more than €33 million.

The mall was developed by ECE and is one of the first inner-city shopping centers in Germany. ECE has managed it since its opening in 1984. The three-story mall has received a fresh, new look, including a new color and lighting concept, an optimized mall layout, and four new escalators.

The refurbishment was complemented by restructuring, which included the construction of three new areas with a high quality of stay: “The Collection,” “The Lobby,” and “The Boutique.” The Löhr-Center also now has a new, iconic entrance. Covering a sales area of 2,200 sq m on the first floor, the Spanish fashion retailer Zara is the center’s new major tenant.

“The new Löhr-Center, with its modern mall design and many new offerings, attracts visitors of all generations and is particularly interesting for families,” said Knut Volquardsen, Project Director Development at ECE.

In addition to Zara, new tenants at Löhr-Center include Liebeskind Berlin, Tom Tailor, Only, Leo’s, and Apollo Optik. Other tenants are a big Rewe supermarket, a dm drugstore, P&C, Thalia, Douglas, Marc O’Polo, Comma, Vero Moda, and Jack & Jones.

UNITED KINGDOM | The Glass Works

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and its development manager Queensberry recently made a major funding and occupier announcement about The Glass Works in Barnsley—the retail-led scheme that will transform the heart of one of Yorkshire’s best-loved towns. 

Having already committed £50 million (€58 million) to fund the first phase of the scheme, Barnsley Council is now committed to fund the remainder of the building, bringing its total investment to £120 million. The Glass Works, the new name given to the town-center development, is located on a 3.8-hectare site around Cheapside and will provide 58,400 sq m of family-led day and nighttime retail and leisure uses.

The development will include a range of new shops, restaurants, a multiplex cinema, and Superbowl UK, alongside a brand-new home for Barnsley’s historic markets, a cutting-edge central library, and a quality public realm. Alongside the funding announcement, development manager Queensberry also announced the first occupiers as Cineworld and Superbowl UK. Cineworld has agreed a 20-year lease for a 13-screen multiplex cinema and Superbowl UK has taken 1,700 sq m, also on a 20-year lease. In addition to bowling, Superbowl UK will bring its Laser Quest and Crazy Club soft play offer.

Stuart Harris, Commercial Director and Co-Founder of Queensberry, said: “We’ve reached a major milestone in the delivery of The Glass Works. By committing to fund the second phase of the scheme, Barnsley Council has taken the type of proactive and innovative approach needed by forward-thinking local authorities.”

While construction is ongoing on the first phase of the scheme, Queensberry and Turner and Townsend, as development managers, will shortly submit a planning application for phase two. The scheme is scheduled for completion in May 2020.

ITALY | Adigeo

Smooth sailing for Verona’s newest shopping arena: On March 30, Adigeo, ECE’s newest Italian shopping center, opened to visitors for the first time.

More than 130 shops with a mix of international and Italian concepts, as well as numerous gastronomic offers, await customers on a leasable area of around 47,000 sq m. After a construction period of about 18 months, Adigeo opened earlier than originally planned. It is 100%-leased and all rental areas were already allocated before the opening.

Due to the high demand during letting, ECE extended the mall during the planning and construction phase to additional areas in a way that complemented the original plans. The new areas are fully integrated into the completed center and will be opened after completion of works on its interior. An additional anchor tenant, the Irish fashion brand Primark, will open its first shop in the Verona region this summer on around 6,200 sq m.

The center, built by ECE in collaboration with the real estate developer CDS Holding and the general contractor CDS Costruzioni, is part of a comprehensive neighborhood revaluation in southern Verona. ECE has invested around €170 million in the project. ECE Italia will operate and rent the mall on a long-term basis. ECE currently also runs two other centers in Italy, Megalò in Chieti and La Cartiera in Pompei.

UNITED KINGDOM | Eden Walk

British Land and Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd. recently secured planning approval from the Royal Borough of Kingston for the £400-million (€467-million) regeneration of Eden Walk in Kingston.

The proposed scheme, designed by BDP Architects, will regenerate part of the historic market town providing, among other things, 28 new retail units with potential to attract a broad range of new brands to the area; 12 restaurants and cafes, alongside a sky restaurant with panoramic views across Kingston’s historic center; 380 new homes, 10% of which will be starter homes; three large public spaces with space for events; a boutique cinema located next to the sky restaurant; and new pedestrian routes to other parts of the town center. The proposed development will create an estimated 600 additional jobs for local people and attract a substantial increase in retail and leisure spend to Kingston.

The formal planning approval follows an extensive program of community engagement over two years, resulting in significant local support for the development.

Richard Wise, Head of Retail Development for British Land, said: “Kingston is a special place that enjoys a unique blend of heritage, retail, and leisure from its great riverside location. Looking forward, Kingston’s standing in Greater London will continue to rise, because the council has a positive growth agenda and is willing to get things done.”

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