Dutch retail specialist Multi Development inaugurated La Vache Noir shopping centre on the southern outskirts of Paris last week. The 51.1 million m[sup]2[/sup] space is part of one of the region's largest regeneration projects, which includes new housing, a hotel and a cinema in the down-at-heel town of Arcueil.
Dutch retail specialist Multi Development inaugurated La Vache Noir shopping centre on the southern outskirts of Paris last week. The 51.1 million m2 space is part of one of the region's largest regeneration projects, which includes new housing, a hotel and a cinema in the down-at-heel town of Arcueil.
Multi Development architects ensured that the centre fits into its surroundings by building most of it underground, while huge glass windows and planted courtyards ensure maximum light penetration. The company also created a public garden on its roof, complete with wild flower fields and children's play area. 'The trend for large retail spaces is no longer about vast UFOs that sit on the edge of towns,' says Multi Development France's managing director Thierry Pin. 'Instead, they have become instruments of urban regeneration, which blend subtly into their surrounding and where people can shop, meet up and play.'
The company, which is present in 20 European countries, has been in France for a decade. But, according to a source, has until now had trouble breaking through the highly-competitive and often nepotistic market. 'It has been in the running for several major projects, but always lost out to a French player,' says the source.
Shopping centre construction is going through the roof in Europe. Some 17 million m2 of new space will be built this year and next, including almost 11 million m2 in 2008, according to the European Shopping Centres Report by global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield. This compares with 5.8 million m2 built in 2006, itself an increase of 13% on the year before.