Caelum Development unveils new Polish mall project

Irish investment group Caelum Development said it has signed a contract with a consortium of construction companies Warbud and Mercury Engineering Polska to build the Nova Park shopping centre in Gorzow Wielkopolski, Western Poland.

Designed by the Kraków-based IMB Asymetria architectural studio, Nova Park is planned to be opened in the first quarter of 2012 and will consist of 140 retail units and 14 restaurants occupying 32,500 m² of retail space. The scheme, which will also offer 910 parking spaces, is already 60%-prelet to a number of tenants including Intersport, Smyk, Empik, Deichman and Piotr & Pawe³.

It will be Caelum Development's second investment in Gorzów Wielkopolski following the launch of the 55,000-m² Galeria Askana in October 2007.

Caelum Development is an Irish investment group with its headquarters in Warsaw. It was established in 2002 by a group of private investors with 10 years' experience in the real estate market. Caelum Development operates in Central-Eastern Europe, principally in Poland, Romania and Germany.

Also this week, ING Real Estate Investment Management announced the re-opening to the public of its Pier shopping centre in Szczecin, Poland after several months of construction works to extend the retail space. The scheme, which was acquired by ING REIM in 2006 for EUR 41 mln, has been renovated and expanded to bring the retail area from roughly 25,000 m² to 28,000 m².