It was in 2002, when the first outlet center opened its doors in Poland: it was the Factory Ursus in the capital city of Warsaw. According to a report of Colliers International there are at present 14 such facilities in this East European country, with further projects and locations in the pipeline.
In the 15 years this market segment has existed, developers have tried to create the optimal outlet center concept for customers. Although the existing schemes differ from one another, many of the solutions that developers have come up with are similar.
One of the projects in the pipeline is the Outlet Center Silesia, which is being built in Gliwice by 6B47 Poland, a subsidiary of the Austrian 6B47 Real Investors AG. It will accommodate 120 shops on a total area of 20,000 sq m.
The opening is planned for the first quarter of 2019. 6B47 Poland’s CEO Mirosław Januszk sees the project progressing rapidly: “The Silesia outlet is being built in two phases. The first phase comprises the construction of 12,000 sq m of retail space and approximately 400 outdoor parking spaces. The second phase adds another 8,000 sq m for further shops as well as approximately 420 additional outdoor parking spaces. The first preparations for construction works already started by the end of last year. We want to realize this project quickly in the next months and already welcome our first visitors in the first quarter of 2019.”
Big catchment area in western Silesia
6B47’s chairman Peter Ulm predicts attractive and exciting dynamics: “Besides residential construction, the competition in the retail property sector also very fierce. And then there are regional fluctuations one has to consider as well. We developed a great plan for Outlet Center Silesia. The outlet distinguishes itself with a very attractive shopping offer and it is perfectly positioned at an important traffic hub. Additionally, the western Silesian region also provides a big catchment area. And we have to harness this potential.”
There are over 70 cities with a total population of approximately five million people in the “Voivodship of Silesia”, with its capital city of Katowice. The city of Gliwice alone has 200,000 residents. The Outlet Center Silesia is being built besides the existing Auchan supermarket and the Leroy Merlin store for construction materials, right next the highway exit A4 Krakow-Breslau and the highway junction A1 Gdansk-Ostrava. The substantial frequency of travel at this junction amounts to approximately 50,000 cars per day.
“The huge demand for the high-quality retail spaces of the Silesia outlet is already noticeable today. Approximately 60 percent of all retail areas of the first construction phase were already let by the time construction works began. Negotiations with further brands are in full swing,” adds Tomasz Rydlewski, the deputy CEO of the Blue Ocean Investment Group, which has taken over the marketing of the Silesia Outlet Center.
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