In mid-January this year, the Regional Environment and Water Inspectorate Plovdiv under the Ministry of Environment and Waters (MOEW) received an investment intention from the NEPI Rockcastle Fund (owner of Serdika Center and Paradise Center in Sofia) for its future shopping center in Plovdiv. It is clear from the document that there are no changes to the main parameters of the project, which was announced back in 2018 and will be built on 56.6 decares in the center of the city. During the pandemic, there was no development on the project, with the deadline for completion most recently extended to the end of 2024. Considering the planned scale of 157,000 square meters of built-up area and lack of a building permit, it is unlikely and it will be completed in time.
The expected amount of investment in Plovdiv is 141 million euros, as was announced back in 2018, and according to the latest report (for the half-year of 2022) of NEPI, 26 million euros have been invested so far. Since the announcement of the project until now, changes have taken place on a global scale, which have led to an increase in the prices of construction materials. So it is possible that the final investment will swell.
The investment intention
NEPI Rockcastle explained to “Capital” that they prefer to comment on their future site in Plovdiv after receiving all the necessary permits. However, some basic parameters of the project and its future infrastructure can be understood from the document submitted to the REWI Plovdiv. Some of them were clear before. The total gross floor area of the shopping complex will be 157 000 square meters, and 57 000 of them will be the leasable area.
The future mall will be located on a total of five levels, one of which will be underground with a parking lot (elevation -7.50 m), a large food hypermarket and smaller commercial areas. On the ground floor (elevation -3.45 m) there will again be a parking lot, where the entrances to the charging areas of the commercial establishments will also be located.
In the document at REWI Plovdiv, it is stated that there will be 1,900 parking spaces, but the information does not make it clear whether this is the total number or only those on the roof.
According to the investment proposal, at a later stage, a protective structure will be built on the roof over the parking lot, and a photovoltaic plant will be built on top of it.
A completely new street will be built on nearly 7000 square meters of the entire terrain, parallel to the nearby Plovdiv-Burgas railway line. Thus, the new shopping center will be completely surrounded by road infrastructure, as the site is located at the busy central intersection of “Hristo Botev” and “Naicho Tsanov” boulevards.
Source: Capital