Stampedes and innovation at Blue City
The mood was somewhat more restrained the day before as the media was given a sneak preview of the 186,000 square meter complex, which is also to consist of a 229-room three star hotel and office space, at a total cost of $200 million.
Those behind the project were keen to highlight certain features more than others, it seemed. The attention of the press conference was enthusiastically drawn to the Home City section of the center on the fourth floor, which consists of around thirty home improvement stores, and the twenty-six meter fountain on the ground floor, which gushed up towards the glass dome above for the journalists' benefit. Of the former feature, investor Amnon Shiboleth said: "We believed in the concept when we started it but it was really difficult to convince people to come with the stores. The problem is today that we have more candidates trying to convince us to be let in and we're thinking of expanding it into new areas we hadn't thought of." Some days after the initial clamor of the opening, Home City was indeed attracting the interest of a discerning smattering of customers, carefully examining the kitchen units and furniture on display, as the masses scurried around below making purchases on the lower floors. The fountain, meanwhile, did a good job of entertaining clusters of children and parents, ahead of the opening of the Magic City section at the end of this month and for which ambitious claims are also being made. "We believe that entertainment in Warsaw does not mean Cinema City with 15 or 16 screens and maybe some pool tables," said Shiboleth. In his opinion the city's young would head to the center during the long winter months "to come and play and do stuff they can't do anywhere else."
Less of a fanfare was in evidence as far as the Auto City feature was concerned, however. This innovation, which is supposed to consist of a number of car dealerships under one roof, and be the first of its kind in Europe, "is still being organized," according to Blue City's press spokesperson, Paulina Starzyńska, and "should be open in two months" time. Nevertheless, there is less news about which brands have taken up the space, which is rarely the case when other types of retailer sign leases at shopping centers.
Elsewhere at Blue City, the shopping continued much as it does at any other mall in the world, though as far as Poland is concerned, the supermarket, Piotr and Paweł, has less of a presence than is usually the case in centers in these parts.
The big question about Blue City will remain whether it can pull in the customers with its novel features, once the initial excitement has worn off. Aside from the competition it will shortly face from Złote Tarasy in the city center, the traffic and transport headaches along Blue City's stretch of Aleje Jerozolimskie don't look as if they'll be getting much relief in the near future. Patience-testing gridlock and crammed buses aren't exactly attractions, whatever delights a shopping and entertainment center has in store.
Those behind the project were keen to highlight certain features more than others, it seemed. The attention of the press conference was enthusiastically drawn to the Home City section of the center on the fourth floor, which consists of around thirty home improvement stores, and the twenty-six meter fountain on the ground floor, which gushed up towards the glass dome above for the journalists' benefit. Of the former feature, investor Amnon Shiboleth said: "We believed in the concept when we started it but it was really difficult to convince people to come with the stores. The problem is today that we have more candidates trying to convince us to be let in and we're thinking of expanding it into new areas we hadn't thought of." Some days after the initial clamor of the opening, Home City was indeed attracting the interest of a discerning smattering of customers, carefully examining the kitchen units and furniture on display, as the masses scurried around below making purchases on the lower floors. The fountain, meanwhile, did a good job of entertaining clusters of children and parents, ahead of the opening of the Magic City section at the end of this month and for which ambitious claims are also being made. "We believe that entertainment in Warsaw does not mean Cinema City with 15 or 16 screens and maybe some pool tables," said Shiboleth. In his opinion the city's young would head to the center during the long winter months "to come and play and do stuff they can't do anywhere else."
Less of a fanfare was in evidence as far as the Auto City feature was concerned, however. This innovation, which is supposed to consist of a number of car dealerships under one roof, and be the first of its kind in Europe, "is still being organized," according to Blue City's press spokesperson, Paulina Starzyńska, and "should be open in two months" time. Nevertheless, there is less news about which brands have taken up the space, which is rarely the case when other types of retailer sign leases at shopping centers.
Elsewhere at Blue City, the shopping continued much as it does at any other mall in the world, though as far as Poland is concerned, the supermarket, Piotr and Paweł, has less of a presence than is usually the case in centers in these parts.
The big question about Blue City will remain whether it can pull in the customers with its novel features, once the initial excitement has worn off. Aside from the competition it will shortly face from Złote Tarasy in the city center, the traffic and transport headaches along Blue City's stretch of Aleje Jerozolimskie don't look as if they'll be getting much relief in the near future. Patience-testing gridlock and crammed buses aren't exactly attractions, whatever delights a shopping and entertainment center has in store.
