Klepierre, Carrefour partner in new retail projects across France

French retail specialist Klépierre Ségécé and Carrefour Property are joining forces to develop several retail projects across France.

In the Toulouse area, the business partners are planning to renovate the Grand Portet shopping centre, which opened in 1972 and was bought by Klepierre in 2001. Located near a 18,000 m² Carrefour hypermarket, the scheme currently covers 24,500 m² of gross lettable area.

Klépierre plans to launch a vast programme of renovation and extension for the mall, with plans to add over 8,000 m² of retail space. Delivery is planned for the first quarter of 2014. In parallel, Carrefour Property will build a new 6,000-m² retail area, Le Patio, which will bring the total size of the centre to roughly 37,000 m². Toulouse-based architects Cardete & Huet were selected to design the new retail space.

Similarly, Klépierre Ségécé intends to build a retail park covering 24,000 m² and deliverable around 2014 on the Bois de Chalezeule site in Besancon, Eastern France. The project, which will be designed by Chapman Taylor, is part of a major urban planning programme and is planned to be expanded to a total of 34,000 m² by 2019. Carrefour Property, working with the Schrepfer firm of architects, will work on a 10,000-m² extension for the mall. Ultimately, the facility will offer 70 stores and parking spaces for 1,363 vehicles.

In Perpignan, southern France, Klepierre and Carrefour plan to extend the existing Claira shopping centre, which opened in 1983 and underwent renovation in 1997. The centre currently consists of a 10,000-m² Carrefour hypermarket and 30 retail shops but plans are to add a further 40 shops by September 2012. Carrefour Property is also creating a 22,000-m² retail park next to the site, expected for delivery in 2012.

'The diversity of these projects reflects the ambition of the two operators in retail real estate development and management, as well as their capacity to work as partners to create retail facilities whose enhanced appeal benefits clients, retailers and local communities alike,' Klepierre said in a statement. Other joint projects are being considered including the Claye-Souilly mall in Seine-et-Marne and the Rives d’Arcins centre in Bègles, Bordeaux.