Football club to build shopping mall in Białystok

Following Białystok City Council's acceptance of a spatial development plan for ul. Jurowiecka, SSA Jagiellonia, the company that runs the Jagiellonia football club, plans to construct a shopping mall on the city-center plot.

Construction works will be launched as soon as approval is received from the voivodship. The council's decision means part of Plac Inwalidów Wojennych will be built on and the square will no longer host a bazaar.

"The architectural design is currently being prepared. The space we aim at will account for some 40,000 sqm," says Wojciech Strzałkowski, chairman of the supervisory board at SSA Jagiellonia.  He adds that if administrative decisions are made on time, the development should be complete in 2009. The value of the investment including the surrounding road infrastructure is estimated at some EUR 100 (zł.386) million.

Asked whether there is a need for another shopping center, while some are already under construction, Strzałkowski says that he couldn't dream of a better location in Białystok. He added that he has already received some interest from prospective tenants. The companies that are to build the complex, SSA Jagiellonia, MTC Plus and ECE, will also modernize public-transport connections and make use of the green areas near the Biała River. The complex will have facilities for the disabled. Further details will be disclosed after the final design is ready.

Andrzej Wróbel