Meyer Bergman, Neinver open €240m Polish mall

Meyer Bergman and Neinver opened the Galeria Katowicka shopping centre in the Polish city of Katowice on Wednesday, boasting a pre-let ratio of over 90%.

The opening of the centre next to the city's main railway station attracted a large public on Wednesday and a footfall of 58,780 was recorded by 7pm.

The €240 mln retail-anchored, mixed-use development is part of a major regeneration programme in the Silesia region led by the Polish State Railways PKP.

Mark Gamble, head of asset management at Meyer Bergman, said the Galeria Katowicka project was a model for public-private partnerships which could potentially be replicated in other Polish cities.

PKP's original goal was to modernise the train station which services 12 million passengers annually. Neinver subsequently won a tender to add the shopping centre as the key element of a mixed-use regeneration project, and Meyer Bergman's first fund, Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners I, became the main investor.

With direct access to rail and bus stations, the mall is set over five levels and provides 53,000 m2 of gross lettable area accommodating 250 shops and 1,200 parking spaces. Anchored by a Peek & Cloppenburg department store, the centre houses leading international brands including Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Levi’s, Nike, Adidas and Sephora.

'Provincial Poland offers excellent opportunities for expansion when working with the right investment and development partnerships,' Gamble commented.

Galeria Katowicka was designed by SUD Architectes, the French-Polish architectural practice also behind the new Katowice intermodal hub, with which the new mall is integrated.

The centre is majority-owned by retail investment management firm Meyer Bergman and developer Neinver. PKP also owns an interest in the scheme.

Cushman & Wakefield is the sole agent responsible for leasing retail space in Galeria Katowicka.