Develon s.r.o., an investment and development company within the MINT Investments Group, is pleased to announce that it has obtained a planning permit for Retail Park Cestlice.
The permit received allows for the development of up to 25,000 m² of gross leasable big-box retail floor space and 700 parking places. The project is financed by the private equity real estate group Avestus Capital Partners.
Retail Park Cestlice is located on the southeastern edge of Prague in the area of Průhonice Cestlice, the leading commercial zone for big box retail in the Czech Republic. It was first marketed to potential tenants at the international exhibition MAPIC in Cannes (France) last autumn. Develon is in negotiations with a number of leading large food, furniture, DIY and sports operators, who have expressed a keen interest in locating there.
"With the opening of the new Exit 8 slip road from the D1 motorway in early spring, and the granting of the planning permit, we are in an ideal position to advance our negotiations with prospective tenants.
"We believe that thanks to the area's existing tenant mix, coupled with the site's frontage on, and direct access to, one of the countries busiest routes, it is one of the premier sites in Central Europe for a retail park development," said Radim Bajgar, Partner at Develon.
With approximately 220,000 people living in the immediate catchment area of the site, and over 100,000 commuter vehicles passing the site on a daily basis, there are few comparable fully permitted sites in the Czech Republic.
The current plan is to split the project into two phases. The first phase of the development, which will comprise 15,000 m² of leasable space, is scheduled to open at the end of 2012. This will contain a number of retailers to complement the existing tenants in the area which include Bauhaus, HyperAlbert, ElectroWorld, Giga Sport, Kika, Makro etc. The plan for the 10,000-m² second phase is under review and a number of options are being explored.
"Certain operators have expressed their preference to acquire a portion of the site. While not in our initial plans, this is something which we will have to give a lot of thought to, as it will facilitate the acceleration in the development of the site, and may make the most sense for the overall scheme," said Sebastien Dejanovski, Partner at Develon.
Source: Develon
