The building construction of Zielone Arkady shopping center in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz will start today. This is the largest project of ECE Polska to date and the biggest shopping center of the city. It will comprise a leasable area of 50,000 m² with 200 shops and restaurants on three levels. The investment volume is approximately €150 million. Its opening is scheduled for winter 2015.
Leasing of Zielone Arkady started only weeks ago and almost 40% of the areas have already been leased out. Among the tenants are the fashion retailers Zara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius and Oysho. Besides Reserved, the fashion concepts Mohito, Sinsay, House, and Cropp, which are very successful in Poland, have also already decided for the center. These are part of the Polish LPP Group and belong to the youth fashion segment. Cropp focuses on street wear and Sinsay specializes in young women's clothing. Mohito pursues a more formal approach and focuses on the target group of young women at the age of 25 and older. Furthermore, the supermarket chain Piotr i Pawel, the toy shop Smyk Megastore and the houseware store Home&You have been confirmed as tenants. Rafał Pruba, Director Leasing of ECE Polska: "Leasing is already in full swing. After a wave of requests and inquiries of potential tenants we have been signing new leasing contracts month by month. Therefore, I am very confident that we will swiftly lease out Zielone Arkady completely."
The most prominent architectural feature will be the west entrance of the shopping center. Visitors enter the building through an entrance hall which is almost 30 meter in height and is shaped like a rising crystal. The light-flooded food court is located in the interior of the building element, which is dominated by large windows. It will provide 400 seats for visitors who will be able to choose from at least ten restaurants. A further architectural highlight will be "The Glade" – an atrium at the south entrance of Zielone Arkady. Its design resembles a theater with loges and stands on three levels arranged around a large square on the first floor which can be used for center promotions or shows. At the same time, it is a central link inside the shopping center where the malls intersect on every floor. A large light sculpture at the ceiling consisting of 1,000 lamps will add a particular glamor to the atrium.
Source: ECE
