Plaza Centers' new project in Kielce

Plaza Centers, a leading emerging-markets property developer, will build a shopping and entertainment center in Kielce, in central Poland, following a recent tender. This will be the company's first project since its debut on WSE in October 2007.

The new center, which will be located on a 30,000-sqm plot around two kilometers from the center of Kielce on a road linking Kraków and Warsaw, will serve some 550,000 people from the city and surrounding areas.

"Kielce is a fast-growing city which currently has only very limited high-quality retail outlets or entertainment facilities to offer. We are delighted to develop this major new scheme which will deliver an exciting modern commercial and cultural center for the inhabitants of Kielce and visitors to the city," said Ran Shtarkman, President and CEO of Plaza Centers.

Upon completion, the center will have a gross built area of 57,000 sqm with 40,000 sqm of gross leasable area, and a parking lot for approximately 1,200 vehicles. Plaza plans to target a mixture of domestic and high-profile international retailers and entertainment operators as potential tenants.

The project is expected to have a gross development budget of approximately EUR 90 (zł.323.5) million.

Construction work shoud start in mid-2009, with completion planned for the beginning of 2011.

"We believe our skills and experience in developing large-scale developments should enable us to create significant value, both for our shareholders and for the center's tenants and visitors, by attracting a range of high quality international and domestic tenants and thereby unlocking Kielce's potential as a retail destination in central Poland," said Shtarkman.

Plaza Centers has been active in CEE and Poland since 1996.

Anna Kapica-Harward