SES Spar European Shopping Centers has opened €150m ALEJA Center in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The center was completed in March, but, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally planned opening date had to be postponed. The high standards of hygiene that are already in place across all SES centers will be implemented at ALEJA and reinforced via additional measures as well as an increase in cleaning intervals and security personnel. The Planet Lollipop children's adventure world and part of ALEJA SKY are scheduled to open at a later date. ALEJA represents the first completely new shopping center to be opened in Europe following the coronavirus shutdown.
The scheme covers 32,000m² of leasable area (GLA) and offers a mix of over 80 international, Slovenian, and local shops, restaurants, and service providers. The shopping center is 100% let and houses the most modern INTERSPAR hypermarket in Slovenia, as well as Drogerie Müller, fashion brands XYZ, H&M, Hervis, Reserved, Tommy Hilfiger, and Baby Center, McDonald's, Big Bang, and Mass, to name a few. The Sport Vision brand is set to make its debut in Slovenia.
ALEJA provides Ljubljana with a mixed-use location for shopping, gas-tronomy, leisure activities, and sports, featuring numerous innovations. The center boasts, among other things, “ALEJA SKY”, a 6,200m² adventure and leisure zone on the roof of the center, which is com-prised of green spaces, sports facilities for soccer, basketball, and volley-ball, two fitness courses, a park that includes paths, seating and recrea-tional areas, as well as a children's playground. A pump track for cyclists, which includes two circuits in front of the building, completes the leisure activity offer. A large portion of the roof areas opened on 20 May, with only the areas for team sports remaining closed, for the time being, due to the coronavirus.
The centre benefits from over 1,600 free parking spaces are available at the center, 1,400 of which are located in a bright and modern, two-level underground parking garage. An additional 200 parking spaces are located directly next to the building. ALEJA also enjoys easy access by public transport.
SES CEO Marcus Wild commented: “This building is yet another landmark in a great architectural city. The concept of ALEJA is unique in its urbanity,” says Marcus Wild, CEO of SES, adding “urban spaces have something organic about them – they become one with their surroundings and pulsate on the footfall of customers. You can sense that, embedded within the DNA of SES, architecture is a defining and human characteristic. ALEJA SKY, which is part of the new center, will not serve as the only new meeting place in the city.”
