ECE, Advance Properties create Sofia's new urban quarter

Bulgaria's Advance Properties and Germany's ECE Projektmanagement will develop Europe Park Sofia, a new urban quarter in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The project will be built on a former factory site in the heart of the city and will include shopping areas, offices, apartments, hotels, a cinema and other entertainment facilities.

Europe Park, to be developed through a joint venture with Balkancar Sredez and GTM-Angel Balevski EAD, will require an investment of over EUR 250 mln for the first construction phase. It will feature a 70,000 m² shopping centre and a 40,000 m² office tower that, with 40 stories and a height of over 150 meters, will be the highest building in Bulgaria. The project will also include about 3,000 parking spaces. Construction for the first phase will start in the fall of 2007 and completion is scheduled for 2010. During the second phase, a total area of 250,000 m² with apartments, additional offices, a hotel and entertainment areas will be added.

'We are very pleased and proud of the fact that with Europe Park we are able to launch the second large-scale project in Sofia,' said ECE's chairman Alexander Otto. 'Bulgaria is a booming market, and with our total investment of around EUR 500 mln in the coming years, we are contributing to the country's positive development.'

Hamburg-based ECE has been developing and managing shopping centres since 1965. With 90 malls under management and 22 pipeline projects, ECE is the European market leader in this field. The malls are located in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, the Czech Republic, Austria and Qatar.