AM has been selected to develop a shopping and leisure centre in Oviedo in the province of Asturias in north-western Spain. Espacio Oviedo, due to open in 2007, will offer a GLA of around 40,000 square metres on three levels and will house a supermarket, mid to high-level restaurants and clothing, sports and accessories shops.
The design for the shopping centre is by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Espacio Oviedo will form part of the city's future Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones conference centre and is one of the elements of Calatrava's ambitious urban renewal plan, which will also include a five-star hotel and new facilities for various departments of the government of the Principality of Asturias.
Regeneration
The urban renewal scheme, commissioned by the Oviedo City Council, covers a site in the city centre on land occupied by the old Carlos Tartiere football stadium in the Buenavista district. It will significantly improve public amenities and commercial facilities as well as improving the city's infrastructure. The new shopping centre in Oviedo will serve a catchment area with a population of 330,000.
Growth strategy for Spain
Espacio Oviedo represents an important project with regard to AM Spain's growth strategy for the Spanish shopping centre sector. Thanks to recent projects such as Espacio Leon and Espai Girones, AM is emerging as a company offering significant added value and is
accordingly noted for both professional as well as design innovations. T+T Design, AM's in-house design bureau, is advising on the optimum scheme for Espacio Oviedo.
Seventh Spanish shopping centre
Other AM projects in Spain include Espacio Mediterraneo (Cartagena), Espacio Coruña (Coruña), Espacio Torrelodones (Madrid) and Espacio Cañaveral (Madrid). Espacio Leon the first AM centre in Spain and AM's hundredth European development was opened in
October 2004 and AM's latest centre in Spain Espai Girones opens its doors to the public on 25 May.
Source: AM
