German developers ECE and Strabag Real Estate have started construction of a €290 mln retail gallery in the German city of Aachen.
German developers ECE and Strabag Real Estate have started construction of a €290 mln retail gallery in the German city of Aachen.
The project partners, together with the Lord Mayor of Aachen, Marcel Philipp, broke the ground on the project at Adalbertstraße during a ceremony on 16 May 2013.
It was also revealed that the new centre will be called Aquis Plaza. ECE and Strabag acquired the former Kaizersplatz-Galerie in Aachen last year from Adalbertstrasse Development Company. The project, which had been financed by state-owned Dutch financier SNS, had been put on ice for some time. Developer Adalbertstrasse is part-owned by Dutch entrepreneurs Pim Kaufman and Johan van den Bruele.
The retail gallery will feature 130 specialist stores on three floors, and a food court over 29.200 m2. A total of 600 parking spaces will be constructed on two levels above the shopping gallery.
The opening of Aquis Plaza is scheduled for fall 2015 to spring 2016, depending on the progress of ongoing archaeological excavations.
ECE will manage the centre, which will employ about 700 people.
The final investor of the project is KG Farmsen an investment company of the Otto family and other institutional and private investors for several decades.
Alexander Otto, CEO of ECE: 'With Aquis Plaza, Aachen receives a modern destination for shopping, activities, and gastronomy which is well-integrated into the inner city. With its great attractiveness, Aquis Plaza will sustainably strengthen Aachen’s position as a shopping metropolis in the triangle region.'
