LOKALE IMMOBILIA | RETAIL Cedet
on their 71,000-sqm Galeria Młociny scheme in the Bielany district. The companies also want to build a huge mixed-use development, including a 110,000-sqm mall, in the Wola district. “This is going to be a brand new city center with all the urban functions – with residential units, offices, entertainment, restaurants, a theater, a culture center, a green area and a broad retail offering,” said Hadley Dean, the CEO at EPP. “Despite new shopping malls being opened, the Warsaw market remains a very attractive one,” argued Dean. He noted that the Polish capital features the biggest purchasing power per capita in Poland, which is almost 86 percent higher than the country’s average. “On the other hand, when it comes to retail space saturation, Warsaw is ranked as the sixth city in Poland. And last but not least, Warsaw – as the country’s capital and its richest city – attracts the most major high-end tenants,” Dean pointed out. “This is why, while EPP invests in regional cities with one dominant shopping center, we are not giving up on Warsaw,” he added. GTC’s management board president Thomas Kurz-
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Warsaw is ready for new retail schemes. However, their formula has to address the needs and growing expectations of buyers
mann, too, pointed to the enormous potential of the retail property market in the city. “We are proud of the fact that Galeria Północna attracted almost two million visitors within the first two months of its opening,” Kurzmann said. Also testament to the continued attractiveness of Warsaw’s retail real estate sector is the entry decisions of foreign retailers. “Of the approximately 30 new brands that enter Poland every year, the vast majority are choosing Warsaw as the place of their debut,” said Magdalena Sadal, the head of retail research and advisory at Cresa Poland.
MODERNIZATION DRIVE
Does this mean that one can expect many more large-scale shopping center projects in Warsaw in the coming years? Not really, experts say and note that while a considerable number of new schemes are in the pipeline, most of them will represent other retail formats. “Młociny, Wola and Wilanów are all defined by intensive residential and office space development so they remain attractive locations for new retail