The Grand Prés shopping centre in Mons is the largest retail complex in the Walloon region, Belgium. Following a construction period of almost 14 months, the first phase of a two-stage project to add an additional 8,180m² of retail space was completed yesterday, coinciding with the opening of a new IKEA store at the same location. The extension to the west wing of Grands Prés adds 1,869m² of retail space, comprising nine additional stores and two kiosks. The second phase will add 6,311m² of retail space across 16 additional shops to the eastern part of the centre which is scheduled to open at the end of August 2016. The existing building is being extensively refurbished at the same time, with the remodelling concept including a redesign of the food court and mall. Union Investment is investing a total of €70m in the expansion project and refurbishment of the existing facilities.
“This expansion represents a major milestone for the centre and for Grands Prés in Mons as a retail location,” said Fabian Hellbusch, head of marketing at the Hamburg-based property fund manager. “The investment is critical for enhancing the shopping centre’s strong market position in conjunction with the development of the new IKEA store, and also for reinforcing Mons as the dominant shopping destination in the Walloon region and beyond.”
The catalyst for the expansion project was IKEA’s decision to open a 35,000m² store next to the existing shopping centre in the Grands Prés location. “IKEA offers the potential to attract an additional two million customers a year, which represents a highly attractive opportunity for the shopping centre. We expect customer traffic to increase significantly from its current level of around 5.5 million visitors per year, given the very convenient link between the IKEA store and our centre, which means greater sales potential,” said Hellbusch. Demand is high for the new space: all but one of the retail units in the expanded west wing are already let and lease negotiations are under way for the remaining unlet space. The overall occupancy rate of the shopping centre, including the enlarged west wing, is currently 98.7%.
Upon completion of both phases, the centre will comprise 26,802m² of space and house 99 shops in total.
